88 Ways to Play Backgammon
by LanieSullivan
Summary: AU: This tale if for those of you who enjoy the more "grown-up" side of Lee and Amanda's relationship. This tale is to illustrate how our heroes could have "played backgammon" during each episode of the series. There will be one chapter for each
1. What Are You Wearing?

Disclaimer: "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" is copyrighted to Warner Brothers and Shoot the Moon Productions. I retain rights to the plot, but not the characters. This story is meant for enjoyment purposes only. No infringement is intended.

Author's note: Okay, so this is the start of a completely shameless project inspired by an amazing writer of "Gilmore Girls" fanfic, Mags68. She wrote this incredibly believable series of one-shot called "Slip of the Tongue" in which she took much of the innuendo of that show to manipulate Luke and Lorelai into bed in many episodes of the series long before they were a couple. I thought since SMK has also contains a ton of innuendo, that there would be a lot that I could play with to do the same for Lee and Amanda. I plan to take all episodes in order and do just that. They will be all posted as one long 88-chapter story.

**Chapter One-What Are You Wearing**

"The First Time"

The whirlybird still wobbled precariously as Amanda tried to figure out how to land it. "How do I land this damn thing?" she shouted with a glance over to Lee.

"Hey, look out!" Lee shouted back as they swerved dangerously close to a large tree's trunk. He shut his eyes again, preparing himself for the inevitable.

Amanda quickly adjusted their course and missed the tree by mere inches. "I need some help here!" she yelled to him to make herself heard over the din of the helicopter.

At not hearing the crash he'd expected, he opened his eyes again. "I don't know how the hell you think I can help with my hands tied behind my back," he fired back and rolled his eyes at her. What did she expect from him?

"Couldn't you just talk me through it," Amanda suggested with a hopeful expression on her face.

"Great," Lee grumbled as he glanced out the window and saw cars arriving and agents piling out of them to apprehend Mrs. Welch and her cronies. He then turned back to Amanda. "How the hell am I supposed to talk you through it?"

"If I knew the answer to that, I wouldn't need your help," Amanda retorted as if that should be obvious since the helicopter still swerved and dipped all over the place under her inexperienced hand. She was doing the best she could with the minimal instruction he'd given her, but what did he really expect from her? It wasn't as if she'd ever flown a damned helicopter before.

"Oh, jeez," Lee muttered under his breath. While he was grateful to Amanda for her coming in to rescue him, he couldn't believe that his life was now in the hands of a simple housewife whose closest brush with danger up to now was tangling with a nosy neighbor. He couldn't help thinking that she'd saved him from one possible death trap, just to lead him into another. He attempted his normal act of running a frustrated hand through his hair, but then remembered that he couldn't because his hands were still tightly bound behind his back. Instead, he took a deep breath, let it out slowly to calm himself, and then gave Amanda the instructions the best that he could for how to get them on the ground.

After a few more near misses with trees and nearly smacking into the roof of the house, the helicopter was finally safely resting on the ground on the back side of the house. "We made it!" Amanda crowed in triumph with a bright smile on her face and looked over at Lee to see that he had his eyes tightly shut again. Now, that they were no longer in the air, Amanda thought she should try her hand again at undoing the knot from hell and scooted over to do so.

When Lee felt Amanda so close to him, his eyes snapped open and he hissed, "What the hell are you doing?' as he looked up to see her standing slightly hunched over him, one leg on each side of him and felt her hands fumbling near his backside.

"Well, you don't want to stay tied up, do you?" she questioned him in a tone that said it should be obvious what she was trying to do. She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him. Where was his gratitude? Hadn't she just risked life and limb to rescue his sorry ass? Would it be too much for a simple 'thank you,' to escape his lips? She came to the conclusion that he just had not been taught proper manners, not only in this, but in the way he'd poked fun at her and tried to dismiss her when she was only trying to help him keep his job.

"Oh, right," Lee nodded as he began shifting uncomfortably in the tight quarters, her nearness provoking a reaction in him that he handed expected. The way that she was leaning over him, nearly straddling his lap, her hands behind him, working on the knots on each side of his hips was also working up his imagination, among other things. He could smell her perfume, her shampoo, the sweet scent that was all Amanda. He shifted again which he realized instantly was the wrong thing to do because it knocked her off-balance parking her squarely in his lap.

"Oh," was Amanda's only reply. Landing in Lee's lap, coming face to face with him, she was startled to see a hazy look in his eyes, a look that resembled a look of desire. Was it possible that her proximity to him was affecting him the same way as his nearness to her was affecting her? _No, _she thought. That would be the last thing on his mind...with her anyway. She was far from his type. In the mere few days that she'd known him, she'd already figured out that he'd go for the no-strings-attached type and she definitely came with strings...two of them...three if you couldn't her live-in mother. She tore her gaze from his and leaned forward again to reach for the ropes that bound him and let out a small gasp as that movement brought in closer contact with the bulge in his pants.

Lee caught on to her reaction to his now almost-painful erection and smiled impishly as her shaking hands once again reached behind him for the knots, brushing against his ass as she did so. It was good to know that he wasn't the only one affected by their physical closeness. He couldn't resist teasing her with her head so close to his. He whispered huskily in her ear, "Find something you like?"

Amanda shuddered slightly, his low voice in her ear working on her like a soft caress. She pulled her head back to look at him again only to find his face painfully close to hers, their lips inches apart. _No_, she decided. She hadn't mistaken that smoky look of desire in his eyes. Before she could contemplate it further, they moved to meet each other. Their kiss was a fiery clash of lips and tongues; both were breathing heavily as they explored each other. A soft moan escaped her lips at the feel of his lips on hers, his manhood pressed against her, her hands still on his rear end.

Lee's mind was awash with sensation at the feeling of his mouth on Amanda's, his tongue dueling with hers, while her nimble hands were still working at the ropes near his ass. Not satisfied with just kissing her and wanting to touch her, he attempted to help her with the ropes, their fingers tangling together, just as their tongues were.

Amanda pulled back from their kiss as the last of the knots came loose and shouted victoriously, "Got it!" as she held up the offending rope, her breath still shallow from their heated kisses. She made a move to scramble away, but found herself held fast by Lee's now freed hands on her hips, pulling her roughly against his erection. "Lee, we should-" her words were quickly cut off by his mouth on hers again, one of his hands tangling in her hair, the other tugging at the scarf around her neck, just before he lowered his lips to her neck, nipping at the tender pulse point. She let out another low moan at the contact as he suckled her neck, his hands now sliding under her skirt to caress her thighs. How did he know just where to touch her to set her on fire? Never one to be passive, she tugged at his already loosened tie and pulled it out of the way, lowering her lips to his partially exposed chest.

"Oh," Lee groaned at the feel of her lips on his skin as she rocked against him while he worked on the buttons of her blouse, exposing her further to him, cupping her lace-covered breasts in his hands. He was surprised by her initiative and was further surprised to feel her hands undoing his pants sliding her hands inside to free his erection from the confines of his boxers.

"What was it you said, right hand on the throttle, left hand on the stick," she said in a seductive voice as she stroked him with one hand and gripped his butt with the other. "Or was it the other way around?"

"I don't remember, but you're doing pretty good with the right hand on the stick," he fired back emitting another low groan as she boldly ran her hand up and down his length. He slid his hands back under her skirt, this time slipping one hand inside her damp panties to stroke her center causing her to cry out at his exploratory touch. He cast a devilish grin her way at hearing her reaction.

"Your left hand on the throttle's pretty good too," she whispered raspily in his ear as she nipped at his neck with her teeth. The harder he stroked her, the harder, she sucked at his neck and he seemed to like it that way because his groans of pleasure grew louder.

Lee shifted to bring their hips closer together, sliding her panties aside as he guided himself into her causing them both to cry out at the connection. Lee found that he was further surprised by her as she used her legs on either side of him to push him deeper into her. "Oh, Amanda," he groaned at the feeling of her wrapped around him. He gripped her head and pulled her to him for another fierce kiss as she began to ride him just as he raised his hips up to meet her. He didn't know if it was the near-death experience, the adrenaline rush that came with it, or if it was just Amanda, but he felt as if he couldn't get close enough to her, couldn't get deep enough inside of her.

Amanda, relishing the feeling of Lee inside her, wanted more and gripping his ass firmly to increase the pace, tore her mouth from his and cried out, "more throttle, more stick," mimicking his words from earlier.

"More, huh?"He replied as he slipped his hand between them again, stroking her as he met her thrust for thrust until her heard her screaming out her release, felt her tightening around him, bringing on his own release and leaving them both panting and gasping for breath as they shuddered against each other. Amanda's head was cradled against his shoulder as they rode out the wave together, sputtering and gasping for breath.

They were both silent for a moment while attempting to cool down after their frenzied coupling. When Amanda finally raised her head to look at him again, to break the tension of the moment, she quipped, "Well, I have to say that was my most exciting helicopter ride ever."

Lee laughed and then he began lightly fingering the scarf still haphazardly slung around her neck. In a more earnest tone that he had earlier, he inquired, "So, what is this thing you're wearing anyway?"

"Well, thanks to you, I'm only half wearing it now," she fired back with a teasing grin as she glanced down at her open blouse.

"Amanda," he scolded in exasperation as she pulled away from him and scrambled back to her own seat.

Amanda chuckled and questioned, "Weren't you ever a scout?"

"This may have escaped your attention, but I'm not exactly the Boy Scout type."

"Good thing," she said with a smile. "A den mother would have a hell of a time with someone like you in her...troop." _Boy, is that ever an understatement, _she mused.

"Well, you didn't seem to mind me being in your..." He shot her a devilish grin. "...troop...a minute ago."

Their conversation was interrupted with a cry of, "There they are!"

"Oh, crap," Lee said as Amanda pulled her blouse closed and began to do up buttons he'd undone while Lee scrambled to right his own clothing before a team of agents arrived at the helicopter and would catch onto what they'd been up to.

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The next day, Lee found himself partially amused, and partially annoyed by the woman rambling beside him and the fact that Billy had just offered her a job working beside him. He hadn't anticipated that. He'd expected that his association with her would end when her debriefing did. Instead, he was now faced with the idea that he was going to be forced to see her again on a regular basis. He'd been so lost in his thoughts that he'd missed the question Amanda had just asked him until he caught her staring at him expectantly.

"What?" he said.

"I was asking if you had a good vegetable man," Amanda said.

"Oh, well, I...uh...I don't eat at home very much," he replied awkwardly, knowing that she was the home-cooked meal type. Could their two worlds mesh? _Not in a million years, _he shook off that thought. After a beat, he said, "Listen, Amanda, about what happened in the helicopter. It...uh...you know was just...two people reaching out to each other to feel alive after a near-death experience...that doesn't mean we need to make a big deal about it."

"Oh, I know," Amanda said with a firm nod.

"And it will never happen again, right?"

"Right," Amanda agreed. "I mean, after all, I _do_ have a boyfriend."

"Oh, right, you do, don't you?" He said feeling a little deflated, not at all liking the idea of another man touching her the way that he had. He shook his head as if that motion would shake off that nagging thought. "You...uh...didn't tell him...I mean...about us?"

She stopped in her tracks, whipped around toward him and glowered at his presumptuousness. "Let's got one thing straight, there is no _us_. Like you already said it was just two people-"

"I know what I said," Lee snapped cutting her off. He just hadn't expected her to so readily agree with him. He was used to just the opposite; women who wanted more after they'd been with him and that was when he was ready to call it quits. Was that what it was? The reason that he was already so fascinated with her? She didn't seem to care one way or another whether she ever saw him again. Was that why he found her so intriguing? Was it the fact that he couldn't coax her or beguile her into his bed? After all, like he'd said, their encounter, as good as it had been, had been completely unplanned and just two people seeking the comfort of the nearest available body.

"And I agreed. Besides, how would I explain something like that to Dean, anyway? Oh, by the way, while you were out of town, I hooked up with a spy and since we nearly got killed together, we have a moment of reckless passion in a helicopter? He'd just think it was a big joke."

Lee couldn't help but laugh and said, "Right, that wouldn't sound very believable would it?" He wondered though, did SHE see it and see _him_ as a big joke? She'd made a couple of cracks already during their time together about what she thought spies were all about.

"No, I don't think he ever needs to know. I mean, we both just agreed that it would never happen again, so I think it's best if we just forget it ever happened and move on, especially since we're going to be working together now." She nodded firmly. The last thing that she needed was to get swept up in the passion of a meaningless fling that was bound to get her heart broken again. Better to just agree to end it now and admit that it had just been a simple moment of human weakness and nothing more.

"Right," Lee nodded back, "Fine with me."

"Fine with me too," Amanda echoed his words, a little downhearted that he'd agreed so willingly, but at the same time a bit relieved that he didn't want to pursue anything further with her. How would she explain him to her family when she couldn't even explain the adventure they'd just been on together.

"Good," Lee said trying not to let his disappointment show.

"Good," Amanda parroted with a bright smile belying the conflicting emotions within her, knowing that after her wild tumble with Lee, there was no way she'd ever be able to be fully satisfied by Dean again, but also knowing that he was the safer choice as Lee's life was just too dangerous. It was better this way.

"Good," Lee repeated.

"You said that already," Amanda said.

"Well, I just thought it was worth saying again. So, we're agreed. We're never gonna' let it happen again, right?"

"Absolutely right," she stated adamantly with far more conviction than she felt. _Who are you kidding, _a voice in her head taunted. All he'd have to do is touch you again and you'd melt like butter on hot-off-the-griddle pancakes.

"And we never need to talk about this again?" he probed, hoping that she'd argue with him...at least a little.

"Nope," Amanda replied. "You'll never hear a word from me about it again."

They walked in silence until they reached Amanda's car, both lost in their own thoughts.


	2. The Senior Agent Always Gets the Bed

**Chapter 2-The Senior Agent Always Gets the Bed**

"There Goes the Neighborhood"

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"I don't want anyone up to watch us break in," Lee attempted to explain to his argumentative would-be partner. He then gestured to the stairs leading up to the bedroom. "Now, are you coming?"

"NO," Amanda protested loudly. "I can't sleep here! How would I explain it? I would feel like I was lying and sneaking." It was bad enough that she'd already been lying to Dean in one way by not telling him that she'd slept with Lee last week. She had also had to make up a story for her mother's benefit of how her car had ended up trashed and why she had looked like a train wreck when she got home after the helicopter ride. How would she explain this one?

"You _are_ lying and sneaking," Lee responded pointedly with a shrug as if it were no big deal. "You're working for the government."

"NO! I mean, I would feel guilty...You know? Like I was...having a...a thing," Amanda sputtered. She was starting to become increasingly flustered because she already felt horribly guilty there he was, standing there with his shirt open bringing out those primal feelings in her again which was only adding to her guilt. She shouldn't be feeling this way about a man she barely knew when she had a perfectly nice boyfriend with a stable job who wasn't in any way going to lead her into a life of danger. "...or something," she added.

"A thing?" he questioned with a bemused expression. He couldn't help the soft chuckle that escaped his lips as he reflected back on their "thing" in the helicopter.

"Yes, you know...a _thing_."

"You mean like an affair?" he suggested, unable to resist teasing her as he knew she was also thinking about their brief "thing." He wondered if she remembered as he did, just how incredibly hot it had been.

"Yes, that kind of thing," Amanda replied softly feeling a bit foolish that she couldn't say the word "affair" in front of him. After all, the man had been inside her just a week ago. That thought gave her an all-too-familiar fluttering feeling in the pit of her stomach as she recalled just how good it had been and how he'd made her feel so indescribably desirable; something that she hadn't felt in a long time. But a "thing" was all that it was. He'd made that painfully clear when it was all said and done.

"Well, you're not," Lee stated firmly. As good as it had been, he wasn't about to travel down that road, not with a woman who had two kids at home. That led to the possibility of attachments and he liked his life just that way it was, unencumbered. "Now, do you like a window open at night?" He couldn't understand what the big deal was. After all, they'd had sex in a helicopter just a week ago where she'd been passionate, wild and unrestrained, practically begging him to give her her release when he'd been buried deep inside her. Why was she acting so puritan all of a sudden? Surely, after that, she could be comfortable sharing a bed with him. It _was _just business, after all.

"Lee," she attempted to speak his name in her stern, motherly tone, but she knew her voice was sounding more frantic. "I have to consider Dean." She needed to remind him, and herself, that she has a boyfriend. Then the thought crossed her mind that she shouldn't have to force herself to remember that. After all, Dean was a very good man. _But not as __**good **__as Lee, _a taunting voice in her head reminded her.

"Okay, how does he feel about windows," Lee said a little more gruffly than he'd intended. He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but the fact that she was still seeing that weatherman bugged him more than he cared to admit aloud. What could she possibly see in a guy like that if she could be so carefree with him?

"Never mind, never mind, you don't understand," Amanda gave up trying to get it through his thick head that she just couldn't spend the night with him. Pretending to be his wife was one thing, but acting on it... She didn't trust herself not to let things go too far again.

"All I understand is that we are on a job. This is purely professional, is that not correct?" Was she maybe taking this undercover assignment a little too seriously? It wasn't as if they were really husband and wife.

"Yes, that is correct," she answered her nervousness easing a little.

"Okay, then one of us gets the bed, the other the couch, I don't care. The important thing is that we get some sleep. We'll tend to get killed less often that way." He then began to make his way up the stairs.

"Who gets the bed?" Amanda called after him knowing the answer before she asked.

"The senior agent always gets the bed," Lee replied smugly, turning toward her with a cocky smirk, still curious about her sudden prudishness when she'd been such a firebrand in the helicopter. Why was she such a contradiction?

She couldn't help flushing slightly at the way he was looking at her as he leaned slightly against the wall. The way that he was flashing her that sexy smile, those adorable dimples, and bare torso making her weak. _Damn him!_ She thought

As if sensing her thoughts, he added as a final parting shot, "Get your mind out of the gutter, would you?" As he turned, he couldn't help but smile wider because he knew that her mind wasn't the only one in the gutter. He saw her blushing and just knew she was thinking about their liaison in the helicopter. He was too, he had to admit.

"Ugh," Amanda groaned. She kicked off her heels in frustration, lobbing them at the couch.

Lee chuckled at Amanda's obvious discomfort as he sauntered slowly up the stairs, but his mirth soon ended as Amanda scurried up the stairs, meeting him on the landing facing toward him, blocking his path, hands on her hips with what he'd already come to know as the "mom" look. "What?" he growled, feeling a little disconcerted by the way she was staring him down, their verbal sparring and the memories of their first case together having aroused more than just his curiosity.

"What do you mean; the senior agent always gets the bed? Who made up that ridiculous rule? You know, I've been reading some of the rulebooks Mr. Melrose gave me and I don't seem to recall that anywhere," she argued challengingly.

"Well, it's not so much a rule as it is, just protocol. The agent with more seniority is the lead on the assignment, regardless of what it is. That includes deciding what's what in undercover work."

"Well, it's time for a new protocol," Amanda insisted as she turned to the second set of stairs in an attempt to get to the bedroom before him. She hadn't gotten up two steps before she was halted by his hands on her waist.

"Oh, no, you don't." Lee gripped her tightly to keep her from progressing any further; he turned her to face him. "You're not comfortable with sharing, fine. You're not getting the bed." He then leaned in closer and said in a low growl, "I'm the one who has to be alert and ready for anything."

"Alert?" she rasped in a throaty whisper, "Is that what you're calling it?" She pushed against his chest in an attempt to free herself. _Bad idea, Amanda,_ she scolded herself as the maneuver had sent a shock through her. During their frenzied coupling in the helicopter, she hadn't been able to touch his bare chest like this due to the vest he'd been wearing and now she felt like she was touching a live wire.

Lee smiled at her, his eyes dancing as he pulled her hips flush against his and whispered low in her ear, "A good agent always has to be _alert_."

"Now, who has their mind in the gutter," she countered. "For the record, I never said that I objected to sharing." She found herself suddenly unable to stop her hands from running up and down his well-muscled chest or stop herself from inching closer to him.

"Who says we need a bed at all," Lee replied huskily as he captured her lips with his own.

The next few minutes were a blur of tactile sensations, mouths meshing, tongues dueling, hands roaming and tugging at buttons and zippers all while they ground against each other.

Amanda soon found herself pressed against the wall as their kiss broke and Lee wasted no time in lowering his lips to a newly-exposed breast. She gasped as the contact arching her back to give him better access as his hand slipped inside her pants and touched her the same way that he had in the helicopter, setting off a raging inferno within her. How could something that she knew to be so wrong feel just so...right? With the way they fit together so perfectly in each other's arms, they way that they instinctively knew where to touch each other, it was as if she had been made just for this man. She pushed his shirt from his shoulders, running her thumbs across his masculine nipples, delighted in hearing him groan in response, further excited that she was getting to him the same way that he was getting to her. While he continued his ministrations, she lowered her hands to his stomach, hovering, just above his waistband, unable to resist teasing him just a little as she ran her fingers lightly over the bulge in his pants.

Lee pulled his mouth from her breast and said with an impish grin, "I know you can do better than that," as he pushed at her pants to remove them entirely causing them both to topple to the landing with her atop him. This deterred him for only a matter of seconds and it actually gave him easier access to slide her pants the rest of the way down her long legs. He was surprised to find that Amanda had somehow worked her hand inside his own pants without him even noticing until she felt her long fingers encircling him.

"Is that better?" she said with a wicked grin.

"Oh, God, yes," Lee groaned and was further shocked when Amanda slid down the length of his body, capturing just the tip of him in her mouth. "Ohhhh," he cried out involuntarily at the way she worked him with her lips, her tongue swirling around the head, the feeling intensifying until he knew he couldn't last much longer. "No more," he growled as he pushed her up and flipped her to her back, her legs on either side of his as he pushed himself into her, using the lower stairs as leverage.

"Oh, Lee," she cried out at the feeling of him inside her again. She locked her legs around his hips, pushing up against him to deepen the connection.

"See? Who needs a bed?" he said as he withdrew and pushed back into her slowly watching her eyes as he did so. God how he loved being inside her, feeling her beneath him, the way that she responded to him, but he found himself unable to resist teasing her the way she'd teased him.

"Please," she cried as she bucked her hips against his to get him to increase the pace, as he was moving within her maddeningly slowly.

"Is this what you want?" he whispered as he withdrew again and plunged into her harder than before, trying to hold himself back for as long as possible, relishing the feeling of just being within her again.

"Yes," she hissed trough clenched teeth as the anticipation built.

"Or maybe you like this too," he said as he lowered his lips to her neck, suckling the tender pulse point there that he'd learned from their last encounter made her weak.

"Yes,' she repeated.

"Or maybe this," He murmured against her skin as he slid one hand between them to stroke her softly while he continued to drive into her at the same pace, withdrawing slowly and plunging back into her hard.

"YES!" She cried louder than before no longer in control of her voice as he brought her closer and closer to the release she so desperately craved. Their verbal foreplay had gotten her worked up before he'd even touched her and now that he was touching her, she needed that release even more than before.

At hearing her loud cries, Lee couldn't hold back any longer and began driving into her faster and harder, pushing her closer and closer to the edge, until he felt her tight muscles clenching around him. "Now, you _are_ coming," he rumbled echoing his words from earlier as he soon followed. He emptied himself into her, groaning out her name loudly as his climax hit him full-force causing his head to spin at the intensity of it. He continued riding out the wave of his release until he was spent, and collapsed atop her unable to control his heavy breathing or the pounding of his heart.

They lay there still wrapped around each other until they were both able to breathe normally again. Lee pulled back to look at her, but found he couldn't bear the intensity of her gaze and looked away. He pulled out of her abruptly, causing her to whimper slightly.

"Wow," she said with a chuckle.

"Uh...yeah..." he responded awkwardly as he rose to his knees on the step below her. "Amanda, we...should...uh...talk about this."

"Oh, now you wanna' talk?" She gaped at him incredulously. She couldn't believe it. Thirty seconds ago, he'd been inside her calling out her name and now he wanted to talk? Was he already regretting it?

"I mean...about...uh..." he ran a hand through his hair. This conversation wasn't normally this uncomfortable. The women he was usually with knew the score, but Amanda was different. Twice, not once, but _twice_, he'd lost his head and not given any thought to protecting her. The thought filled him with dread. She was already a single mother raising two kids by herself and he hadn't given a single thought to the idea that he could very well have made her a mother again by his recklessness...until now.

"About what?" She gave him a curious look as she sat up and reached for her discarded blouse, pulling it on, suddenly feeling the need to cover herself and desperately wishing that her pants were not three steps down on the other side of where Lee was kneeling in front of her.

"We...um...we haven't been very...uh..." he struggled for the right word, "...responsible."

'Oh." She nodded in acknowledgement as it dawned on her what he was talking about. "That's what you're worried about? You don't need to worry about it. I'm on the pill. I have been for a long time, since shortly after Jamie was born. I stopped it for a while after my separation from my ex-husband, but I started it up again when I started seeing Dean."

"Oh," Lee breathed a deep sigh of relief. Then an uncomfortable realization hit him. She was taking the pill for _him, _the mediocre meteorologist. "You mean, you're sleeping with him?" he barked at her in an accusing tone as he stood angrily and yanked his pants up as he did so.

"And you're what, shocked by this? He _is _my boyfriend," she said as she rose and pushed her way past him to retrieve her slacks, pulling them on hastily.

"Oh, right, your boyfriend. Well, you didn't seem to be thinking too much about him a few minutes ago!" he shouted.

"You know what?" she retorted. "You're starting to sound jealous and you have no right to be. You and I agreed just a week ago that there was nothing between us. So, whether I'm sleeping with my boyfriend or not is none of your damn business!" The truth was she hadn't slept with Dean since meeting Lee, but she wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that.

"Right, you're right. Why should I care? You can screw the entire neighborhood and it's none of my business. I mean, after all, we're not involved and it's not as if I'm exactly a monk. I have a black book full of names that I can call anytime. More than one, actually."

"Good, so maybe next time you need a pretend wife, you can call one of them."

"Believe me, I will," Lee said.

"Good." Amanda responded tersely as she hurriedly finished getting dressed and scurried down the stairs into the living room.

"Good," Lee called after her before picking up his fallen shirt and stomping up the stairs.

Amanda jumped slightly at hearing the bedroom door slam loudly and muttered, "I guess the senior agent got the bed, after all."

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Once the case was wrapped up, Lee and Amanda were downtown walking on the sidewalk watching in silence as police cars passed them. Lee finally turned to Amanda, and couldn't help noticing that she who is still a little shaky.

"Are you all right?"

"Oh, I'm... I'm...um...yes." She gave him a curious look. Could it be that he was actually concerned?

Seeing the uncertainty on her face, he tried again, "You're sure?"

"I'm sure." What she wasn't sure of was him. "I'm really... 'm all right." She paused for a moment to try to gauge his feelings, but couldn't get a good read on his inscrutable face and nervously changed the subject. "Well, tell me. What was in those hair dryers, anyway?

_Right, back to business, _he thought dismally. "Oh, the terrorist guns we were after." He wanted so much to get back to the subject. He'd been trying in his clumsy way to let her know that he at least cared about her well-being. "Look, you want to get a drink? I'll tell you all about it." He turned again to face her and they stopped walking; this time she faced him as well.

_Is he asking me out on a date? _She decided that that couldn't be the case, not when moments after they'd been intimate, he'd tried to brush it off as if it meant nothing."Uh, no, I can't. Maybe some other time." She hurriedly looked away from him and down at the wedding band she still wore. She slipped it off. "I'll give you this. Guess I won't be needing it anymore. She placed it in his hand.

"Yeah, right. Yeah, I guess the honeymoon is over, huh?" He chuckled awkwardly and tried to shrug off his disappointment that they wouldn't be spending another night together.

"Right. I guess so." She was hoping that he'd argue with her, maybe give her some kind of clue as to what had been on his mind when he'd asked her to get a drink with him.

Uncomfortable with the intent way that she was studying him after she'd just turned him down for a date, he reverted back to his old tactics. "You know what the whole problem with our marriage was?" he mused in a teasing tone to hide his disappointment.

"What?"

"It just wasn't very exciting."

"Yeah."

They both laughed uneasily and then turned away from one another again as they resumed their walk in silence.


	3. I Want a Woman

So, those of you who have been reading this and especially those of you who are members of the SMK fan fiction group on Facebook know that my plan is to dirty up each episode. What you don't know is that my plan is also to keep them out of a bed for as long as possible. So, here is my next attempt at that. For this one, they are taking a slight detour from Lee visiting Walt. I hope you like it.

**Chapter 3-I Want a Woman**

"If Thoughts Could Kill"

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"Yeah, that's what I want!" Lee shouted, not caring who heard him. "I want a woman!" He was being childish and he knew it, but she was so annoyingly cheerful and trying to get him to be cheerful when all he wanted to do was wallow in his pain and misery. She was a mother. Why didn't she get that? Was she this way with her kids too?

"Well I think you'd just better stop this right now because I will_ not_ get you a woman!" Amanda fired back in exasperation. Had he failed to notice that _she_ was a woman? In addition, she was a woman who'd been putting up with a lot from him in this assignment to keep him in line and make sure that he was taking care of himself and getting the rest that he needed. She found herself briefly distracted by a passerby and said, "Hello," before turning her attention back to Lee. "Now, you can just think of something else." She knew that he'd like nothing better than to just give into the pain and give up, but she was determined not to let that happen. She didn't let her children give up when they were down and she wouldn't let him either. It struck her in that moment just how very much like looking after her children this assignment of keeping Lee in line was.

"Okay, I wanna' go in that room," Lee said with a pout, gesturing to Walt Kimball's room as he made his way toward it. He was soon halted by Amanda firmly tugging on the back of his robe as she dragged him away from the door.

"You're not allowed in there," she hissed. "Please don't get me in trouble again." She'd had more than enough trouble from him already and not even just at the hospital, but also at home with her family mad at her.

"Well, don't you think you owe me," he demanded as he held up the candy bar that had started their argument, his expression more petulant than before.

"Gimme' that," she sniped as she snatched the unwanted candy from his hand.

"Anyway, it is item number three on my list of things to do," he stated blandly while pulling out a list from the pocket of his robe. "It is important to organize your day a step at a time."

"When did you start all this list stuff anyway," Amanda asked curiously, as it was not like him to be so organized.

"Since..." Lee's agitation grew because try as he might, he couldn't seem to come up with an answer to her question. "Just don't let anyone in here, will ya," he ordered her as he attempted to make his way into the forbidden room, but was once again stopped by Amanda tugging on the back of his robe.

"Are you completely crazy?" she barked. She had to think of a way to stop him from going in there and in her desperation, she pulled him to the other side of the hall, and then pushed him into the room across from it, which she knew from her volunteer works was a storage room. She closed the door behind them. "You're going to get both me and yourself in trouble." She then steered him toward rickety desk chair and gave him hard shove toward it, the crutch in his hand clattering to the floor.

"Oof," he groaned. "What the hell was that for?" He hobbled around to glower at her, but the pain in his knee forced him to sit in the chair that she'd practically thrown him toward.

"You're supposed to be staying off that knee and out of that room. If I have to lock you up in here to make you do that until your next round of tests, then that's exactly what I'm going to do." Just how she was going to keep a highly-trained federal agent locked up, she hadn't the faintest clue. It helped a bit that he was partially disabled right now, but still, even that wouldn't deter him for long. She already knew him well enough to know just how determined he could be when he wanted something. She'd found that out the hard way in his arms.

"Oh, well if you're not going to let me into Walt's room then you still owe me a _real _treat," Lee whined. "You got me all worked up, expecting some great surprise and all you had for me was a lousy candy bar. I need a better treat than that." He gave her a salacious look, reminding her again of their private moments together.

Amanda firmly clicked the lock in place and approached him. "You want a real treat," she crooned in a low husky voice as she knelt in front of him and ever-so-slowly slid her hands up his pajama-clad legs. She knew this was far from her instructions from Mr. Melrose, but he'd given her orders to look after Lee and keep him out of trouble... If this was the only way to do that, then so be it. She would willingly make that sacrifice for the good of her country. _Sacrifice, ha! _her inner voice taunted her.

Lee felt himself growing hard as Amanda's nimble fingers deftly untied the drawstring at his waist freeing him from his pajama bottoms. "Amanda, what are you doing?" he questioned, alarm bells going off in his head, yet excitement stirring through him at the same time.

"Shhh," she said placing a finger to his lips to silence him and whispered to him in her low, raspy voice, "You said you wanted a woman and _I'm_ a woman."

He groaned as she started slowly by running her hand up and down his shaft. She teased him slightly to pay him back for being such a jerk. When she heard the loud exhalation of breath he let out, a breath she knew was partially in anticipation and partially in frustration, she finally gripped the base of him firmly while she covered him with her mouth and took in all of him that she could. He gritted his teeth as she worked her mouth up and down his length, trying to stifle his groans, knowing there were people walking up and down the halls outside. When his arousal intensified, he could no longer hold back and groaned loudly, "Ohhhh."

Amanda pulled her mouth from him with a loud pop and hissed, "Shhh, someone will hear you."

"I don't care,' he growled as he grasped her wrists, pulled her onto his good knee and kissed her soundly. His tongue probed her mouth the way he was now longing to probe her body after her assault on his manhood. He began sliding his hand up her skirt along her long slender thigh. "Turn around," he demanded when he broke their kiss that left them both gasping for breath. He couldn't quite figure out what it was about this simple housewife that could bring out the most primal desire in him, but every time he was with her, he found his mind drifting places it shouldn't go.

'Turn around?" Amanda questioned warily. What exactly did he have in mind? She had only planned to keep him distracted and under her control so that she wouldn't get in trouble with the hospital or with Mr. Melrose. What better way to distract any man that with a blow job? She'd never met a man yet that she couldn't control that way.

"Yeah, turn around." He invited her back onto his lap, lightly patting his other thigh to indicate what he wanted from her.

"I don't know about that," she replied uneasily. He was injured and she didn't want to risk hurting him. That would only serve to make him even more surly that he already had been.

"You really wanna' give me a treat, then let me have my treat my way," he growled low in her ear.

"Ok-ay-ay." she said hesitantly. She was still unsure as she complied, turning with her back to him as she carefully straddled his thighs taking great care to avoid his injured knee, wondering again what he had in mind. She didn't have to wait long to find out as he soon had both hands under her skirt, one stroking her center while he penetrated her with the other. "Aaahhh," she sighed as his touch. _God, he's good with his hands, _she couldn't help thinking as he stirred the fire that was always present when he was around, but she tried to keep firmly tamped down. She decided that she was wrong and this was nothing like looking after her children. She'd never back down or give into the boys so easily. As he increased the pressure, all thoughts of her children vanished and she cried out, "Lee!"

"Shhh, someone will hear you," he hissed in her ear as he removed his finger from her, slid her panties aside and replaced his finger with his shaft while he still stroked her, his free hand now grasping her right breast as she rocked backward against him, deepening their connection. He buried his face in her shoulder to muffle his cries of pleasure as he pushed up into her while she, in turn pushed back against him creating a perfect rhythm to give them both the most pleasure.

Amanda brought her arm up to her mouth stifling her primal cries in the bulky fabric of her sweater as the sensations Lee was giving her intensified. When she'd dragged him into this room, she'd only intended to take care of him to keep him distracted. Now, he was giving her more pleasure than she felt she could stand as he pulsed inside her and stroked her relentlessly, urging toward her pinnacle. "Mmm," her muffled cries sounded.

"Oh, yes, Amanda," Lee murmured in her ear as he increased the pressure he was applying to her, knowing she was close. "Come hard, I wanna' feel you come."

"Lee!" she cried as her orgasm hit her in wave after wave of pleasure at the same time that she felt his warm seed spilling within her, and heard him moaning low in her ear causing the sensations within her to intensify even further at know what she was doing to him. How could she ever be with another man after this? There was nothing else like the way she felt in his arms or with him inside of her.

Both quaking and sweating profusely in the stuffy room, they sat like that together for a long moment; the only sound in the room their heavy breathing as they came down from their mutual high together. When his breathing and his heart rate had finally slowed enough to speak, Lee said, "Now, _that_ was a treat."

Amanda couldn't help but laugh and teased, "Good. I bet that wasn't on your list of things to do."

"No, but it definitely should have been," Lee fired back and then added with a chuckle. "I guess you really did bring me a woman."

"I guess I did," she responded as she carefully rose from his lap. "But not really, if you think about it because I told you out there that I am a woman."

"Yes...you...are." He punctuated each word and gave her a devilish grin as looked her up and down salaciously while she hurried to straighten her clothing and smoothed the wrinkles out of her Bedside Bluebell uniform.

"We should get you back to your room, so you can rest," she suggested. "After all, you just exerted a lot of energy."

"That I did," he agreed with the grin still plastered on his face as he reached for his fallen crutch and allowed Amanda to help him shakily to his feet. "Now, your hem's even more crooked," he added with a laugh.

Amanda just rolled her eyes and didn't comment. Placing one arm around him to help steady him, she used her free hand to unlock the door. She peered cautiously outside until she saw that the corridor was empty. "The coast is clear." She nodded to him as she led him out of the room.

Lee, as quickly as he could on his injured leg, made his way across the hall toward Walt's room and barked at her, "Now make sure the coast _stays_ clear."

"Oh, will you please hurry?" she urged as she impatiently glanced at her watch. "It's getting late and Dean and I have a self-defense class."

At hearing Amanda's last comment as he entered Walt's room, Lee shut the door with more force than was necessary. Why the hell was she still seeing that guy and why was she talking about her date with him after what they'd just been doing together. How could she be in there in a hidden-away little room, allowing him to do the things he'd just done to her and for that matter doing the things she'd been doing to him, yet still have the worthless weatherman on her mind? He shook off those nagging thoughts and tried to focus on the task at hand. Why should he care anyway? It's not as if Amanda were his girlfriend after all. Sure, they had had a couple of go-rounds that were...well, pretty damn hot, if it did say so himself, but still, why should that mean that he had to keep fixating on her. It wasn't as if he'd never had good sex before. _But not as good as her, _he reminded himself.

Amanda, left in the hallway by herself, shook her head at the door being abruptly slammed in her face and muttered, "He doesn't care." Her own words struck her, sending a painful stab of longing through her. She didn't have time to dwell on it though as she saw Dr. Glaser walking toward her and she had to hurry to stop him and derailed his attempts to enter Walt Kimball's room with mindless chatter about her boys and medical school.

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Amanda tangled with her self-defense instructor, trying to follow his instructions as he attacked her, soon finding herself knocked flat. While he lectured the class on proper self-defense techniques and using her failure to deflect his attack as an example, she glanced over at Dean who was sitting off to the side. She cringed a little at the worried look on his face, feeling tremendously guilty for her liaison with Lee at the hospital when it was so obvious that Dean loved her and even more obvious that Lee did not. Why couldn't she be as excited by this wonderful man who loved her and loved her children, as she was by this reckless, dangerous spy that she was hopelessly drawn to? As she pulled herself to her feet and tried again to listen to her instructor, she soon found her mind drifting and wondered if there were a way for him to teach her how to defend herself against the magnetic pull of her partner. _Ha! That'll be the day. You're hooked and you know it! _She shook her head and pretended that it was just shaking off the latest parry by her instructor, but in reality, it was to shake off the unbidden memories of the fire she'd felt in Lee's arms.

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Lee stood in his apartment, Looking thoroughly amused as he glanced at the stuffed duck he'd pulled from the gift box he'd found in his apartment, reading the attached card. "_To Lee, hurry back, Love the steno pool._" His thoughts drifted to the ladies he knew in the steno pool. "Is that Marilyn...No, it's Jessica." He then thought about it again and corrected himself, "No, that's Marilyn." His amusement soon ended at the thought of both Marilyn and Jessica. While both were fun neither had the fire that Amanda did and nether could set _him_ on fire the way that she did. Those thoughts had plagued him through the rest of his hospital stay, even more so than the annoying dreams that he just couldn't shake.

"Probably sexual," Amanda had goaded him, but was she right? Since meeting Amanda, his libido sure as hell kicked into overdrive whenever she was around. He thought back to his irritation at the hospital when she'd mentioned her boyfriend. Was that the reason he found her so alluring, because she was unattainable? He wished he could figure it out. If he could get to the root of his fixation on her, he could probably cure himself of it. _But do you really want to, _a warring voice in his head questioned him.

"Yes!" he stated aloud to shut that voice up. He shook his head to get rid of those thoughts and pulled the string on the duck. As he listened to the duck's words, all thoughts of anything except killing Billy were erased from his head.

A few days later, Lee was cleaning up his apartment and found the remnants of poor Lester Duck. Well, what was left of him anyway, after Amanda had beat the shit out of the damn stuffed toy to bring him to his senses and keep him from killing Billy. He couldn't believe that he'd been so susceptible to Glaser's mind control and was that close to doing in a very good friend of his. It took another very good friend to get him out of it. He lobbed the offensive duck at his trashcan where it landed about a foot away. "Great," he grumbled as he walked over to where it had landed. He picked it up and as he did, he glowered at Lester and questioned, "Why the hell couldn't you program me to stop thinking of Amanda King so much, huh?" He violently tossed the duck into the trashcan and wondered for the umpteenth time just what kind of pull this woman had over him. Had _she_ somehow brainwashed him? It certainly felt like it will the way he couldn't stop thinking about her. He'd have to discreetly ask the agency doctors what they'd found in Glaser's research about how to reprogram the mind...strictly for his report, of course. _But you can't reprogram you heart, _his inner voice reminded him.


	4. Not Bad

**Chapter 4-Not Bad**

"Magic Bus"

"I've never seen your legs before," Amanda commented as she tried to catch her breath. It seemed strange to her since they'd had sex three times now, but all three times, his legs had still been covered up. In fact, it had just now struck her, that despite her mad attraction to him, she had never yet seen him completely naked.

"What?" Lee looked in surprise and argued, "Yes, you have."

"No, I haven't," Amanda replied. She knew she hadn't and come to think of it, while she'd had her hands on it, the first time that they'd had sex, she'd never seen his butt either. Well, not without it being clothed, that was. She had to admit she'd caught herself looking at his posterior a few times and had to force herself to stop staring at it. She was only human, after all, and he was a damned attractive man. She knew that she wasn't the only female in the office who looked.

"Amanda, yes, you have," he stated firmly as he glanced around nervously at the others in the group and then in a lower voice said, "After all, we've...you know..." He flushed slightly in embarrassment. He didn't often have this kind of conversation with women he'd been to bed with. In fact, most of the ladies that he'd been around weren't much for conversation at all.

Amanda chuckled at his inability to say the words that she knew he was thinking. She was reassured by this and finding herself very glad that she was not the only one uncomfortable with acknowledging the intense physical attraction that seemed to keep leading them into each other's arms. "Okay...Yes...yes...we've..." she also glanced around, "Well, you know what I'm talking about, but I've still never seen your legs." She then lowered her voice to just above a whisper. "You've never taken your pants completely off...or I mean, I've never taken them off of you when we've...well, you know."

Lee thought about it and realized that she was right. His pants had always been undone just enough to give him room to slide inside her. Suddenly feeling even more uncomfortable with where the conversation had lead his overactive imagination, he shook his head, indicated his legs and asked with a teasing smile, "So, what do you think." Teasing, that was the way to go. Add a little humor to take the edge off and let them both breathe a bit easier since he could see that she was also having trouble with it.

She gazed at the long, sexy legs in front of her, but couldn't bring herself to give him the satisfaction of a real compliment since he was so hard on her on the job, and answered noncommittally, "Not bad," with a shrug.

Lee chuckled and plopped down on the ground facing her, gazing up and down her legs appreciatively before catching what he was unwittingly doing and abruptly looked down at his own legs and changed the subject. "Well, you must be in pretty good shape. I mean, you don't seem tired." He knew from experience just how great her shape was. _Stop it, Stetson,_ he chided himself. He didn't know what it was about Amanda King that got to him so worked up and made him salivate for her like a hormonal teenager.

They talked for a minute or two about their workout routines until they were called to resume their activities. Lee, grateful for the distraction jumped up immediately and then as an afterthought, reached for her hand to help her up, the light contact sent a spark of electricity through him. _Gotta' stop doing that, _he warned himself. _Gotta' stop touching her. _That voice was soon drowned out by another, _No, you need to KEEP touching her._

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"I guess I'll be seeing you..." He began to turn from her, but then thought better of it thinking that he sounded too eager, then added, "...maybe...but then again maybe I won't." He hoped that he sounded as nonchalant as he was trying to. I mean, he wouldn't want her thinking that he wanted to pursue anything further with her. For the first time, they'd made it all the way through a case together without succumbing to their mutual fever for one another; a fever that not even the world's best antibiotic could cure.

"Yeah. Well, just in case you don't, do you think maybe you could say something nice about my work? I mean, after all, I think I did contribute here."

"Hmm. Okay...uh...Your work was..." he paused as he thought for a moment, then grinned at her and said, "...not bad."

"Not bad?" Amanda questioned incredulously. Really? She'd dragged him out of the line of fire when he'd been shot, had driven the stupid bus while they'd been chased down by madmen who were hell-bent on destruction had signaled the agency that it was the two of them and not the terrorists inside, saving them both from being blown to kingdom come and now, she'd just finished dressing and bandaging his would and ALL that he had to say was that?

"Yeah, not bad," Lee reiterated as his cocky grin widened.

She shook her head in disbelief and muttered, "Not bad." _See if I ever save your life again, _she muttered in her mind.

"Well, you think my legs are just okay..." Lee reminded her, "...I think your work was just not bad." He found her perturbed expression incredibly cute. _Whoa! Where did that thought come from? No, no, no, Amanda is not cute; not cute at all. _He tried to force himself not to think of her that way.

She rose to her feet, smiled slightly as she moved closer to him leaning her arm across his shoulder, bracing it on the side of the RV, stared right into his eyes and said, "That is so petty."

_Oh, crap. _She was touching him now and making it worse, but it was too late to back down now that he'd thrown down the gauntlet. "Care to change _your_ opinion?" Lee retorted with more swagger than he felt as he waggled his eyebrows at her with an impish grin.

"And what...do you think...would change my opinion?" she challenged back as she drummed her fingers against his shoulder.

"Oh, I don't know," he said as he reached for the arm against his shoulder and pulled her with him to the door of the RV out of sight of the agents roaming around. He closed the door and latched it behind them. "Maybe something like this," Lee suggested in a lower, more seductive tone as he nipped at the tender skin just below her ear.

"Not bad," she mused with a sigh. "For the record, that was what I said about your legs, not that they were just okay."

"Still, not bad isn't much better," Lee responded in a husky voice as he again lowered his lips to her neck, this time suckling at the tender pulse point causing her to gasp. Pulling back from her, he looked into her eyes and challenged, "So, ready to upgrade your opinion yet?"

Amanda shook her head and teased, "Nope still just not bad, " as she escaped his embrace and crossed the tight space to clear her head a little after his onslaught. How was it that just the slightest touch from him could turn her into a quivering lump of jelly? She was determined not to let him know that.

"No?" Lee inquired as he followed her. "Then maybe this will do it." He closed the gap between them, pulled her into his arms and crushed his lips firmly against hers, nipping at them with his teeth and his tongue, his kiss fierce as he demanded entrance to her mouth.

Amanda opened her mouth beneath his, pulling his head down as she moaned into his mouth, savoring the sensation of his tongue tangling with hers while his hand slid beneath her sweatshirt and caressed the bare skin beneath it, setting her on fire as only he could. He then pulled her shirt over her head and lowered his mouth to the exposed skin of her chest. He deftly unhooked her bra and capturing a nipple in his mouth while his hand teased the other, "Ohhhh," Amanda moaned at the sensations he was creating in her while she trailed her hands up his chest under his tee and ran her fingers along the smooth, hard muscles there.

Lee raised his head to look at her and asked, "Changed your mind yet?"

"Mm-mm," she answered with an unconvincing shake of her head as she tugged his tee over his and ran her hands over his skin, thumbing his nipples before nipping at one of them with her teeth causing him to gasp. "You?"

"Not a chance," Lee stated firmly as he reached for her again and cupped her bottom with one hand while he flicked open the button of her pants with the other. "But maybe this will change yours," he suggested as he slipped his hand inside her panties and stroked her boldly, thrilled to find that she was already wet for him. What a mystery she was. She was saying no and arguing with him, yet at the same time maddeningly arousing him and responding to his touches.

"Lee," she cried out as he touched her intimately unable to believe that a man she knew almost nothing about could bring out the most primitive yearning in her. She was further excited by the fact that she knew there was a swarm of agents outside and that they could be caught at any moment. It was very much like the storage closet at the hospital except the idea of being caught by one of the people they worked with was even more dangerous.

Lee lowered his lips to her neck again while he pushed her pants to the floor, then proceeded to trail hot open-mouthed kisses down her body, from her neck to her collar bone, first one breast then the other, teasing her with his tongue. More kisses were trailed down her ribcage, and her stomach until he reached his true destination, nipping at the apex between her legs. He stroked her with his tongue, lapping at her juices greedily as her felt her trembling above him, and felt himself growing harder at hearing her crying out her pleasure. He gained immense pleasure of his own in knowing that he'd won this round. No longer was she shaking her head in protest, but was now shaking it in passion as her fingers slid into his hair, holding him against her sex.

Amanda clutched Lee's head to her, her fingers tangling in his hair as he consumed her, licking, nipping, suckling and teasing her until she cried out his name repeatedly as the most intense orgasm of her life ripped through her making her feel as if she'd been shattered into a million pieces only to be put back together and shattered again. "Lee!" she screeched as she quaked and bucked against him, tossing her head back, but he still didn't relent. He continued to torture her swollen nub with his mouth, causing her to jump and twitch at the contact. She heard the faint sound of a zipper and before she knew what was happening, she felt herself being turned around and Lee had slammed into her from behind. "Ohhhh," she cried out at feeling his girth inside her again.

"Changed your mind yet," Lee growled low in her ear as he held her hips.

"No," Amanda gasped stubbornly refusing to give him the satisfaction, though she loved the feeling of him inside her, stretching her, filling her so completely and fitting her so perfectly.

Lee withdrew from her slowly and then slammed back into her hard, "How about now? Still not bad?"

"Oh, not bad, not bad at all," Amanda cried as she blindly reached for the back of the seat just to have something to hang onto and avoid crumbling to the floor on her weak, shaking knees as he pounded into her. She whimpered as she found that it was not close enough and she leaned her head against the wall instead.

"We can do better than not bad," Lee whimpered just before he nipped at her neck and plunged into her again. "Can't we?"

"Oh, yes," she replied exuberantly. She was no longer capable of fighting him. The feelings he evoked in her were just too great, too overwhelming to hold out any longer. She needed him to complete her, at least physically, if nothing else. She knew it and so did he. "Yes, we can."

"Good," Lee replied in a smug tone as he picked up the pace advancing and retreating, both their pleasure building as he did.

"So good," Amanda cried as she braced herself with her hands against the wall pushing her hips back against Lee's while he drove into her repeatedly. She let out a squeal when she felt him biting down hard on her neck, and found herself gasping uncontrollably for breath as another searing climax overtook her. "So good, so good, so good," she keened repeatedly.

"So good, oh so good," Lee repeated at feeling her tight muscles contracting around him, groaning loudly as he emptied himself into her while he continued to pump into her until he was spent and collapsed against her pressing her into the wall and breathing heavily. When the last vestiges of his orgasm had died down allowing him to speak, he withdrew from her and said, "Not bad."

Amanda turned and slapped him hard on the bare chest to which he only laughed. At seeing the teasing look on his face, she couldn't help laughing herself and replied, "And you still didn't take your pants off."

"Neither did you," he said nodding to her pants still pooled just above her sneakers while he fastened his own.

"I guess not," Amanda said as she bent to pull up both her panties and her pants, and then fumbled for the rest of her clothing while Lee was pulling his tee over his head. "Umm...Lee...where's my bra?"

"Uh...I...Um...I'm not sure," Lee said just as there was a pounding on the door. "Crap, there's no time to find it now. Just put your sweatshirt back on."

Amanda hastily pulled her sweatshirt over her head and nodded to Lee who opened the door to find Francine on the other side.

"Well, isn't this cozy," Francine cooed as she entered with an icy glare toward Amanda as she looked both of them up and down.

"Oh...Uh..."Amanda stammered. "I...uh...was just helping Lee...get this thing...you know, cleaned up a little. You know, Mr. Melrose did say he wanted it done." She knew she didn't sound very convincing, knew that Francine was assuming something was going on, but what did it matter? Whatever the tart blonde thought, she had no proof of anything untoward happnening.

"Right," Lee concurred as he flashed Amanda a grateful smile for her quick thinking... "Billy said the mission's still on, but after all that happened today, it needed to be cleaned up before we take it across country. And Amanda here...you know...she...uh...offered to help."

"Of course, she did," Francine said. "She is quite the little worker bee, isn't she? Who better to help you 'clean up' than someone whose greatest joy in life is housework."

"I'm standing right here, Francine," Amanda put in impatiently with her hands on her hip sand a look of annoyance on her face.

_There's that cute face again, _Lee thought, but frowned as soon as he thought it.

"Yes, you are, Dear," Francine said. "When where you should be is out there." She gestured through the door. "That is if you want a ride."

Amanda smiled, "Oh, right, Francine. A ride." She nodded and wondered if that smart-alecky look would be wiped right off of Francine's smug face if she knew that Lee had just given her the ride of her life.

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One week later on a secret army base in the Arizona desert, a young private grumbled as he entered the Vigilant. "Clean the thing up," he muttered. "What do they think I am, a maid?" He sighed. His job was to follow orders so he set to following them. As he began to set to work, his grumpy expression changed to one of amusement as he found a lacy bra under the driver's seat. He laughed as he thought this thing might need more clean-up than his commanding officer believed that it did.


	5. A Major Disappointment?

**Chapter 5-A Major Disappointment?**

"The ACM Kid"

"What are you doing here?" Lee groused in irritation at seeing Amanda at his front door so early in the morning.

Amanda made her way into Lee's apartment and at seeing him in his short robe babbled nervously, "Well, I had to take the boys to school and I was already halfway here, so I figured why should I go all the way home and then come all the way back here? So..." She flushed a little as she took in the sight of his bare legs and quickly averted her eyes.

Lee reached for the coffee pot that sat on his desk and offered weakly, "Coffee?" He still half-awake and desperately needing a jolt, though seeing her just might do the trick.

"Mm-hmm," Amanda replied.

"Good," Lee replied with a firm nod, eager for an excuse to put a little distance between himself and Amanda his state of near-undress in her presence unnerving him. As soon as he'd seen her, he'd felt that familiar stirring that always occurred when in her presence.

Amanda looked around Lee's messy place and observed, "You know, this reminds me of a place I live in while I was in college. Mother saw it and she made me move." She then followed Lee toward his kitchen and asked cheerfully, "So, where's the little boy you want me to baby0sit?"

"Getting dressed," Lee sniped, annoyed that she hadn't gotten the hint that he was trying to distance himself from her. He groaned and said, "It'll only be for a couple hours while I go into the agency. You mind?"

"No, no, I like kids," Amanda replied energetically.

"Ah," Lee said as he began to make the coffee. _Of course, she did, _he thought. He didn't know why he expected anything different. That was why he'd asked for her help to start with. He knew that as a single mother of two boys, she was far better equipped to handle the wayward kid than he was. _She's pretty good at handing you too. _

Amanda tried to shake off his brusqueness with her and inquired, "Are you always this punchy in the morning?" She was mighty curious after all of their encounters if this is how he would be if they ever spent a whole night together. _Stop it, Amanda, _she thought. _That can't ever happen; you have a boyfriend. _She'd tried to justify their actions as that of two people thrown into life-and-death situations beyond their control, but with each new experience, that was becoming harder and harder to do. It was also becoming increasingly harder to deny the magnetic pull this man had on her.

"Are you always this...perky?" Lee fired back grumpily. He thought about their fiery escapades and was indescribably grateful that they weren't a real couple. He felt sure that he couldn't handle her over-exuberance on a regular basis. While they'd slept together, they'd never woken up together and he was glad for that. He had enjoyed her exuberance very much, a little too much at times, when they'd been having sex, but a steady diet of it would be just too much. As she went on about her being a morning person and him not, he glanced back at her, his thoughts jumbled as he took in the walking contradiction that was Amanda King, her prim, conservative attire belying the wildcat that he knew she was underneath it. _Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, not if I could have the wildcat all the time, _he thought and then with a firm shake of his head turned back to the coffee pot in an attempt to get that disturbing image out of his mind.

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Lee wandered aimlessly through his apartment in his stocking feet, his jacket and tie discarded. He paced restlessly, nursing a scotch on the rocks, as he waited for Amanda to arrive, their encounter at the bar disturbing him much more than he liked. _Sex with you was always a major disappointment_. Amanda's words had haunted him through the rest of the night as he continued his investigation. Had she meant those words about him? He thought back to their last encounter and how he'd had to coax her into admitting that she liked it. Or had she really _not_ enjoyed it and had just said so to get it over with?

Or was it just her being over-exuberant again and playing into her role as disgruntled ex-wife? That thought made him wonder if she really was a disgruntled ex-wife and just what the circumstances were that led to her divorce. He felt sure that it couldn't have been the lack of a satisfying sex life. He knew all too well just how creative she was when it came to that. _Unless it was on his side_, he thought. Maybe that's where that comment had come from. Maybe she'd been disappointed in her sex life with her ex-husband. She was a very fiery, passionate woman and maybe her ex hadn't satisfied her needs. He was determined to find out.

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. He set his drink down, hurried to it, and flung it open to allow her entrance to his place. At seeing her still in the outfit she'd worn at the bar, his thoughts drifted to that comment she'd made and all thoughts of discussing Aleksei flew out of his head as he reached for her.

Amanda had barely had time to step in the door before she heard it slamming behind her and felt herself pressed up against it, Lee's hot mouth ravaging the pulse point at her neck while one hand slid under her skirt and the other worked at the buttons on her blouse. "Ohhhh," she cried out as her blouse was dropped to the floor and she felt his teeth grazing her breast through her bra. She slipped one hand into his partially open dress shirt as she tugged at the lower buttons with the other, finally getting frustrated enough with them that she just yanked forcefully with both hands, sending the offending buttons flying.

"Hey, I liked this shirt," he protested as he haphazardly dropped her bra to the floor.

"I'll sew them back on for you later," she promised as she pushed his shirt from his shoulders to pool in a heap with her blouse. She lowered her lips to his chest, clamping her mouth down on one nipple while she caressed the other, her free hand cupping him through his pants, then moved to open the button on them and slide her hand inside to stroke him.

"God," Lee groaned at the way Amanda was touching him as he realized if there was any disappointment in her married life, it had to be all on her ex-husband's side. The thought of her having done the things she was doing to him with anyone else brought out a fierce possessiveness in him and he felt a raging desire to possess her again. He stopped her actions, pinned against his front door again as he once again slid his hand beneath her skirt, this time to forcefully tear her panties from her body before lifting her to straddle him, and plunging himself deep inside her causing her to cry out with the force of it.

"Aaahhh," Amanda cried at feeling his hardness inside her, filling her again.

Lee stilled for a moment, looked at her in alarm. With the way she'd cried out he was fearful for a moment that he had hurt her until he saw the blazing look in her eyes. He relaxed as he felt her hands sliding up from his bare torso to his shoulders and felt her pushing against him using her back against the door as leverage and felt her locking her legs around him. That was all the encouragement he needed. He clamped his lips to hers, kissing her savagely while he drove up into her pulling on her hips to bring them down to meet him.

Amanda moaned loudly into Lee's mouth as she felt him withdrawing from her and driving back into her repeatedly, her passion building as his tongue probed her mouth, the way he was probing her body with his hard shaft. She tasted the scotch on his lips and tongue and greedily sucked on it longing for mouth of that taste She relished every sensation, his tongue tangling with hers, his hands on her hips, and the most exquisite sensation of all, that of him inside her, filling her up completely in a way that no man ever had. She tore her mouth from his as she couldn't help crying out her pleasure, "Oh, Lee," she screamed as she linked her hands behind his neck while he lowered his mouth to hers biting down hard on the tender skin while he continued to plunder her bringing her to yet another mind-numbing climax which was soon followed by his own, her pleasure only intensifying as she felt him spilling into her while he cried out his own pleasure.

"God, Amanda, Oh god," Lee moaned against her neck as he felt her contracting around him causing him to erupt within her. He latched his mouth onto her neck again as he continued to push into her until he was completely emptied, trembling against her as the force of his release took him over. He breathed heavily agasint her skin as he tried desperately to get his heart rate to slow down, but not wanting to leave the comfort of her embrace. Seeing this kid going through what he had, had brought all his own painful childhood memories to the front of his mind and more than just his dire need to possess her, he needed that motherly comfort from her. While his breathing slowed, he blinked back the stinging tears that had formed in his eyes before raising his head to look at her, "So, A major disappointment, huh?" he joked with a grin in an attempt to hide his inner turmoil.

Amanda laughed and said, "No. You know that I only said that to tease you."

Lee let her down and slowly withdrew from her, made quick work of re-fastening his pants and parried, "Well, now you see what comes from teasing me."

"I'm not complaining," she replied as she bent to retrieve her shredded panties, "Except for maybe about this." She held them up.

"Spoken by the woman who just ripped the buttons off my shirt, " he fired back as he held up the dress shirt.

"Well, that I can fix, these there's no hope for."

"Maybe, you should go without them anyway," Lee teased. "They just get in the way."

Amanda blushed furiously as she retrieved the rest of her discarded clothing, quickly dressing and said, "You know, we really should talk about Aleksei."

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"You've taken over the place," Lee grumbled. "It's not that it just looks nice and neat and tidy. It looks like you live here and not me!' That was exactly what he didn't want. He was now beginning to think that taking her so forcefully here in his apartment had been a big mistake. It seemed that she'd developed that same nesting instinct that all women whom he'd allowed to spend the night seemed to do, although technically she hadn't spent the night. His space was _his_ space and he'd never bought into that old idea that every bachelor pad needed a woman's touch. At seeing the somewhat pained look on Amanda's face, he added, "Not that I'm not grateful, of course." He didn't want to piss her off to the point that she'd never touch him again.

Lee's attempt at backpedaling did nothing to soothe Amanda's bruised feelings. Nervously swinging her arms, she began pacing and then stopped leaning slightly on the mantle. "You know, I think that Aleksei was right when he said that we were incompatible," she informed him with a hint of sadness in her voice.

_Too late. _"Aleksei said that," Lee questioned and posed his hands on his hips at the kid's nerve. What the hell did he know about it? He could think of at least one way that he and Amanda were very much compatible, but that was the whole problem, wasn't it? They couldn't keep their hands off of each other and it was growing to be a more complicated situation with the more contact they had.

"Actually, he said, "Lee's fun, You're a drag," Amanda explained with a mournful, self-deprecating look on her face.

Lee couldn't help the grin that crossed his face as he thought of all the ways that Amanda was definitely _not _a drag. He started to approach her, then in an effort to get his mind off its rapid descent into the gutter, he pointed out, "You know, he's not all that bad. I mean, some kids deserve a little spoiling. Life's not easy and it's a lot harder for a scared kid," He drew closer to her and continued with, "You know, maybe he pretends to be tough so no one will know how scared he is." Boy, could he ever relate to that one.

Amanda smiled slightly at having another little piece of the Lee Stetson puzzle filled in and replied, "You know, if I didn't know better, I'd swear you were speaking from personal experience."

"Yeah, you're not kidding. Did I ever tell you about my childhood?"

"No," she answered and looked at him expectantly. Maybe this was it, the moment when he would finally open up to her a little, other than in the throes of passion.

"I didn't think so," He flinched slightly at seeing the look on her face, walked past her to the wall shelf changing the subject to his out of order record collection, leaving Amanda shaking her head in disbelief.

Amanda sighed at the thought that a man who could be so giving in the bedroom, could be so closed outside of it, not that they'd ever actually made it to the bedroom, but still. Why was he so afraid of connecting on more than a physical level?

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Amanda sat on the side of the couch massaging Dean's shoulders as she listened to him rattle on about the Russian family he'd heard about on the news, throwing out statements about plausible denial. As he turned to look at her in surprise that she acted like she hadn't heard about it, she looked away at his intense scrutiny and tugging nervously at the neck of her bulky sweater. She had been hoping that it would serve her purpose in putting it on and that it was successfully hiding the large hickey Lee had left behind. Now, with the way that he was looking at her, she wasn't so sure She was briefly saved by the bell.

Amanda shook her head as she knelt to retrieve the stuffed panda and recalled her words to Lee about buying her affection with it. Was that what he was trying to do, she wondered. She smiled at that thought as she rose with the panda in her arms and hugged it tightly.

From a safe distance, Lee watched with a smile as Amanda picked up the gift he'd left her, and then glared briefly at the weatherman's car in her driveway before turning his attention back to her. At seeing the bright smile on her face, he thought that while the weatherman may be there, she was holding a reminder of him in her arms the way she'd held him in his apartment. Maybe the weatherman was the one who was a major disappointment. Maybe that's why she kept giving in to him. He smiled at that thought as he made his way to his car.


	6. Cinderella After Midnight

Author's Note: First, I want to think all of my loyal readers for following this very twisted tale and for all the reviews and to my guest reviewers that I am unable to reply to, thank you as well. Second, a quick note about this chapter and the next; in viewing these again for the purposes of writing this story, I'd forgotten that these two episodes were aired out of canonical order as Amanda's ankle injury occurred in this episode and in "Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth" she is already wearing a cast from the injury, so "Service Above and Beyond" should come first for that reason. I am also taking a little liberty with the "after midnight, Cinderella" scene in delaying the call from Harry Singer for a little while.

**Chapter 6-Cinderella After Midnight**

"Service Above and Beyond"

"You're not falling for that guy's line, are you?" Lee questioned Amanda in annoyance, jealousy flaring within him. _No, not jealousy_, he argued with himself, _concern_. _Yeah, that's it, concern. _After all, Delano could very well be mixed up with Eastern Bloc agents and he didn't want to see Amanda get hurt. That's all it was. "I mean, talk about obvious."

"What line?" she squawked back, her voice rising. "Look, you may think Jim's no good, but I think he's charming and I think he's sincere." She was laying it on thick, she knew, but she couldn't resist goading him for the way that he was behaving as if he owned her. If that's what he wanted with her, he should just say so and with more than just the occasional physical interaction.

"Jim?" Lee felt his annoyance increasing at Amanda's obvious naiveté.

"Yeah." Amanda nodded and stubbornly folded her arms across her chest.

Lee scoffed and fired back, "Have you got any idea how many women _Jim_ has been sincere with?"

"I don't believe it," Amanda stared at him incredulously and she really didn't believe him and his sheer nerve. All the women he paraded in and out of his life and yet, he was judging her date and acting as if she were his personal property.

"Dozens," Lee interjected to make his point, though he felt like a massive hypocrite when he was guilty of the same thing, except in his case, he'd never made a promise to a woman that he didn't intend to keep. The women he ran around with knew the score from the start.

"No. You," Amanda said her voice rising again.

"What about me?" Lee asked hesitantly, fearing Amanda would call him out on his own recklessness in relationships.

"You're sounding like a jealous person-"

"I am not j-"

"You have no right to act like a jealous person," Amanda told him hotly, her voice now almost to the level of a screech.

"What are you-"

"Look, you just take this little thing," she snapped as she proceeded to rip the mic from the brooch and shoved it forcefully into his hand, "and get it out of my life, go back in your truck, do whatever you're doing and don't eavesdrop on me." She then stormed out, leaving to do nothing but gape open-mouthed after her.

"Now, wait a minute. Just one-" He glanced at the tiny mic in his hand, gripped it tightly and shouted after her, "Amanda!" turning to find himself face to face with a different woman entirely and that Amanda long gone.

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Lee relentlessly paced back and forth in the library of the French Provincial house that the agency had set up for Amanda as he anxiously awaited her return. His thoughts were in turmoil as he nursed a scotch on the rocks, his third since Amanda had walked out on him at the restaurant hours before. "What the hell his she doing with him," he growled aloud as he took another glance at his watch. He'd lost count of just how many times he'd done that since she'd stormed off in a huff. "It's one-thirty for God's sake! What the hell could they be doing until one-thirty in the goddamn morning?" He took another swig of his drink as his thoughts took him places he didn't want to go. "Oh, I _know_ what they're doing," he grumbled as he downed his drink and made his way to the bar to pour another, tortured by the idea of James Delano laying his hands on Amanda and the idea that she might let him.

Lee knew from first-hand experience what a firebrand Amanda was and couldn't stand the idea of any other guy benefitting from it, especially a cad like Delano with his cheesy lines. The thought made him want to beat the guy within an inch of his life. And Amanda? What the hell was she thinking, falling for it, flirting with him shamelessly. Had she suddenly forgotten that she was supposed to be this wholesome mother of two, that she had two impressionable young boys at home? What would they think if they knew their mother was- Was what, exactly? Before he could nail down his thought, he heard the front door open and hurried toward the door of the library. Amanda's words to him about being jealous crossed his mind, halting him in his tracks. Not wanting to appear too eager to see her by rushing into the room, instead he sauntered slowly to the doorway and watched her interaction with the two undercover agents as they retrieved the very expensive jewelry she was wearing.

"It's way after midnight, Cinderella," Lee scolded her with a teasing grin as they walked away, idly shaking the cocktail in his hand.

Amanda started at hearing his voice and turned to find herself suddenly face to face with him. "What are you doing here?'

"Someone ripped off her microphone in the ladies' room and that left me with a lot of time to kill," he answered in what he hoped was a nonchalant tone as he took another swig of his drink to keep himself from losing control.

Knowing that at some point, they would need to talk about the fight they'd had, but not wanting to get into it at this late hour, she hurriedly explained, "Listen, I have to get home. I should change clothes." She turned toward the stairs, but was halted by his voice.

"Aren't you going to tell me about your evening?" Lee inquired still trying desperately not to sound over-eager and be the jealous person that she'd accused him of being.

"Well, there's nothing to tell," Amanda answered with a hint of amusement dancing in her eyes at his obvious attempt to conceal his possessiveness of her. She couldn't resist toying with him a little. "I did what your computer wanted me to do and now, it's time for me to slip into a phone booth and turn back into Amanda King."

"Amanda, we went to a lot of trouble to set this thing up. We scrambled the TV signal, we had Singer tell his servants that our people were there to fix the reception...'

"Um...what did they find out?" she asked. While she really had no personal interest in James Delano, she also didn't want to see him in any trouble because he really did seem to be a nice man, not at all her type, but still a very nice man.

"Unfortunately, not much," Lee replied in disappointment as he stared into his glass. He'd been hoping they'd find something implicating Delano up to his eyeballs so that he could prove to Amanda that he was not jealous and that his concern was merely a professional courtesy. "We went through Hollander's things, we found a few deutschemarks, a passport, a return airline ticket to Munich with a connecting flight to Berlin..."

"Wait a minute," Amanda interrupted as she held up one finger to stop him.

"Hmm?" Lee finally looked back at her.

"Who's Hollander?'

"He's working with Delano," Lee said pointedly as a reminder that she had been on a job tonight, not a date. "The ticket's for Sunday. They'll be making their move between now and then." He took a deep breath and smiled at her. "Now, what were you saying about your evening?" He prodded as he sipped at his scotch.

"Oh," Amanda teased with a mocking smile. "I wasn't going to say anything at all about it." She then trotted up the stairs.

"Oh, no, you don't," Lee warned as he quickly followed her, catching up to her just as she reached the landing. "I want you to tell me what happened tonight."

Amanda smirked at him and parried, "I'm sorry, Lee, but on a need-to-know basis, you don't need to know."

"Well, I just don't accept that! You do know that you were on a job tonight, not some getting-to-know-you first date, right?" After what he'd just told her, how could she still think that man was worth being involved with?

"Of course, I know that, Lee. How could it be anything remotely resembling a real date when he doesn't even know my real name? Why should that mean that I can't have a little fun?" She turned from him to walk toward the bedroom.

"Fun?" He glowered at her incredulously as he flung his cocktail glass aside, shattering it on the stairs below him. He grabbed her arm, spinning her to face him, pinning her up against the banister. "Just what the hell kind of _fun_ were you having with him tonight?"

"That is none of your damn business," Amanda fired back hotly as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but failed miserably when he only held her tighter, giving her no room to escape.

"None of my-" Lee broke off. He was suddenly struck by the fiery, challenging look in her eyes.

"That's right. None of your business," Amanda reiterated. "As you keep reminding me, we're not involved, so what I do with anyone else doesn't concern you."

"Oh, what about your boyfriend? You keep reminding me that you have one. Would you say it's _his _business?"

"Yes, I _do_ have a boyfriend and it's not you," Amanda retorted. "So, you need to get off this jealousy kick right now."

"I am _not_ jealous," Lee insisted, looking her straight in the eyes as his mouth inched closer to hers, but wasn't sure who he was trying to convince of that more, Amanda or himself.

"NO?" Amanda challenged never breaking her eye contact with him.

"No," he stated firmly just before their lips crashed together in a tumultuous, exploratory kiss, lips and tongues doing battle as they groped at each other's clothing. Lee's coat and tie landed on the floor behind him while he tossed the dressy, frilly jacket she wore across the banister to land on the stairs behind her, her creamy shoulders exposed to him by the spaghetti-strap dress she wore beneath it. He broke their fiery kiss breathing heavily, as he nipped at her earlobe before moving down to her neck, suckling at the tender skin there. He was grateful that her jewelry had already been removed leaving no barriers to his access to her soft skin.

Amanda gasped at the contact of his lips against her neck as she furiously tugged at the buttons of his shirt, yanking the tails of it from his pants as she exposed his chest, loving the feeling of his hard muscles beneath her exploring fingers. "Don't you dare give me another hickey," she scolded as she thumbed his nipples into hardness. "I had a hard enough time hiding the last one."

Lee laughed and replied, "Good," not a bit sorry that he'd left his mark on her during their last encounter as he lowered his lips to her neck again. He was very glad that he'd suggest she wear her hair up because it exposed her to him all the more. He lightly fingered the thin strap on her shoulder while his other hand cupped her bottom, pulling her tighter to him wanting to make damn sure that she understood just what she was doing to him.

"Oh," Amanda cried at feeling his erection pressed roughly against her, spurring her desire for him just at their verbal sparring had. She reached her hands between them to loosen his belt with one hand, while cupping him with the other, just as she felt his hands sliding the zipper on her dress down.

Lee groaned at Amanda so boldly touching him. He pulled back from his assault on her neck for a moment to enjoy it while he pushed at the tiny straps on her shoulders, causing her dress to pool at her feet and was shocked to find that she wore no bra beneath it. "Oh, Amanda," he cried as he felt her hands inside his pants, now running one hand up and down the length of his shaft while the other cupped his balls. Lee lowered his mouth to capture one breast with his teeth while his other travelled to her taut bottom, pushing at the silky panties she wore to expose her fully to him. He pulled back from her once more to allow her to step out of them. He captured both of her hands in one of his, before using the other to lift her leg to rest on his hip, locking eyes with her as he slowly pushed into her.

"Lee," she hissed as she felt him penetrating her, his hand on her hip, his smoldering eyes boring into her own passion-filled ones. Amanda tugged at his hip with her leg to urge him on because he was being so still, it was driving her crazy with raw need.

Instead of following her lead, Lee, unable to bear the intense eye contact any longer withdrew from her, spun her away from him, her back to him. He roughly grasped her hips, bent her slightly over the banister and plunged into her hard from behind, groaning loudly as he did so. Mindful of the other agents downstairs, he buried his face in the apex between her shoulder and her neck to muffle his cries as he drove himself into her.

"Ahhh, Amanda cried at his hardness slamming into her as she gripped the railing of the banister tightly hanging on for dear life as he pounded himself relentlessly into her, the depth of his penetration causing her to moan uncontrollably, forgetting for a moment that they were not alone in the house.

"Shhh," Lee hissed in her ear, pointing briefly down the stairs reminding her of the others in the house. He withdrew from her and slammed into her harder than before, his need to show her who she belonged to overtaking him until he realized that he was about to lose it way too soon. He slowed his moments for a moment, moving his hand between her legs, caressing her in long slow, strokes until he felt her getting closer to her peak, her body beginning to tremble in front of his. He heard her increased cries of pleasure, before he picked up the pace again and felt her pulsing around him, quivering and gasping before him and with one final hard thrust, he emptied himself into her, emptying himself also of the intense envy he'd felt for the man who'd spent the evening in her company.

Breathing heavily and sweating profusely because of his exertions, he leaned wearily against her, cradling her to him, as he rained soft kisses to her neck and shoulder. He was immensely comforted by the thought that he knew now without a doubt by the way she'd responded to him, there was no way that anything had happened between her and James Delano. His brief moment of peace was interrupted by the jarring ring of the telephone downstairs. He quickly slipped out of her, scrambled to right his pants, and pull on the rest of his clothes, chuckling at the thought that he still hadn't made it all he way out of his pants with her.

Amanda chuckled herself as she gathered up her discarded clothing and with a shrug, said, "Well, I guess I'm going to have an easier time changing clothes now," as she scurried to the bedroom.

Just as Lee had finished re-tying his tie, the female agent called up the stairs, "A Mr Singer, on the phone for you." Lee quickly trotted down the stairs and met the agent at the bottom as she said, "The agency, they're patching it through this phone." She indicated the phone in her hand. She glanced at the bits of broken glass and Amanda's jacket on the stairs and said, "What happened there?"

"Oh...uh...well..." Lee hedged. "well, that's...uh...that's just Amanda. She's a bit of a slob. You should see her desk at the office." He knew it wasn't remotely true, but couldn't think of anything else to say without giving himself...or their activities...away.

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Lee moved closer to Amanda's eerily still-form in the ambulance, fighting back the sting of tears that had formed in his eyes. Seeing her nearly lifeless in Delano's house had made one thing perfectly clear to him. What he felt for her was more than just an intense physical desire. God, help him, but he'd fallen hopelessly, desperately in love with this perplexing, obstinate, paradoxical woman. He gingerly brushed her hair from her face as he struggled to speak, hoping his words would reach her enough to bring her back to him. He _had_ to reach her. He couldn't lose her. "I...I...uh...guess this one got a little rough..." He shook his head as he paused, then said in a choked voice, "I'm sorry. You did a hell of a job. you really did. You might even make a decent agent someday."

Amanda, drifting on the edge of consciousness, heard Lee's voice pulling her like a magnet, opened her eyes, and said in a groggy voice, "Thank you."

Lee's eyes widened at seeing her eyes fluttering open, a flurry of emotions enveloped him. He was so grateful to see her beautiful chocolate eyes gazing up at him, reassuring him that she was going to be okay, but at the same time was worried that she'd heard him pouring his heart out to her. "You're awake," he said his voice a mixture of elation and fear. When her heard her delirious response about Portofino, he smiled with a slight shake of his head as he realized he had nothing to worry about on either score. His secret was safe for a little while longer.

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Standing in her back yard, Amanda's thoughts whirled at Lee's parting statement. She flushed slightly and said wistfully, "He carried me," wishing she'd been awake to witness such an act of tenderness from her otherwise gruff, aloof partner, wondering after all their encounters what it would be like to have a real moment with him, not driven by danger, jealousy or sheer animal lust. As she walked back into the house, she pondered that thought further. How would it be if he'd carry her to the bedroom for once, instead of their encounters happening just wherever they happened to be at the time? Would they make love slowly and tenderly? Would they spend the night together, reaching out to each other in the middle of the night to begin again? "Never gonna' happen," she said softly as she shook off those nagging thoughts and returned to her sinkful of dishes.


	7. Better Without the Sexy Nightgown

Author's Note: So, in this one, upon re-viewing the episode, in the scene when Penny was talking about Amanda having some fun with Lee, I noticed that Amanda was no longer wearing the cast and was sitting in her stocking feet, so I decided to use that little tidbit to my advantage. This one ended up being a bit longer than the previous chapters because there was so much that I wanted to include in it. I also added a tiny bit more dialogue in the tag scene.

**Chapter 7-Better Without the Sexy Nightgown**

"Always Look a Gift Horse in the Mouth"

"He's kinda' cute," Penny told Amanda in a bit of a suggestive tone.

"Who?"Amanda questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"That agent, Mr. Stetson, the one in charge of security," Penny answered as she sat across from her new friend. She nodded in Lee's direction with a smile at Amanda.

"Oh, him," Amanda answered noncommittally, but still with a slight smile on her face, which was tinged with just a bit of irritation due to the fact that Lee kept insisting that she act as if they were strangers. Surely Penny wasn't suggesting what she thought she was suggesting. It was bad enough that she had her mother playing matchmaker at home and trying to get her to make a real commitment to Dean, a man who was so yawn-worthy that she always knew she could call him if she were having trouble sleeping.

'Yeah, him," Penny responded in an even more salacious tone. "Yeah, I...Um..noticed he doesn't have a wedding ring on." She gave Amanda a "Go for it" look.

_Oh, yes, she is, _Amanda thought as she rolled her eyes. "Oh, no, no, I could never get involved with anybody in that line of work." She was unwilling to admit that she _was _involved with him, more deeply than she cared to admit. Of course, she really couldn't since she and Lee weren't even supposed to know one another on this assignment and Penny wasn't supposed to know that she even worked for The Agency. She felt a little wave of guilt wash over her at that thought. Penny considered her a friend and she was lying to her, pretending that she was just here as a friend. Of course, she _was _here as a friend, but she was using her new-found friendship with the princess to spy on her in an attempt to flush out whoever it was that was trying to assassinate her husband. "That's...that's too dangerous," she stammered. She knew that it wasn't just the danger of the job that she was worried about. The danger of being close to him, being intimate with him...it was incredibly easy for her to be drawn in by those twinkling hazel eyes, those adorable dimples and...oh, yeah...his incredible body.

"Sometimes dangerous can be fun," Penny countered with a mirthful glint in her eyes as she tried to encourage Amanda to take a chance.

"Sometimes dangerous can be dangerous," Amanda replied, thinking of all the times she'd found herself locked in Lee's arms, his penetrating eyes on hers while he did things to her that made her feel things she'd never felt before. Even though she knew it wasn't true, sometimes when they were together, he made her feel as if she were the only woman in the world for him. It was for sure that he had made her feel more alive than she ever had, even when they were faced with death.

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Amanda and Penny laughed together, "Oh, Amanda, Do you know I didn't even think to pack a sexy nightgown?" Penny mused with a slight chuckle.

"It could be better _without_ the sexy nightgown," Amanda responded with a laugh. She was glad to see her friend laughing as well. The moment didn't last thought because her smile soon faded though once she saw Lee's head popping up at the window.

The change in mood didn't go unnoticed by the very keen princess either. At seeing the shift in Amanda's facial expression, Penny turned and caught sight of him at the window before he ducked out of her view, "Oh-ho!' she crowed with a bright smile to Amanda as she peered out the window at Lee's retreating form.

"Oh, no," Amanda protested with a chagrined look on her face. "This is not an Oh-ho."

"No?"

"Uh-uh, no, no, I don't know what that man wants," Amanda denied, feeling another tiny wave of guilt and a huge surge of annoyance at her partner. What the hell was he thinking? For a secret agent with more than ten years experience, as he liked to remind her, surely he could have been a little stealthier than that.

"No?"

"No," Amanda stated firmly, though over the past few weeks, she'd learned of a few things he wanted, mostly involving getting her naked and panting out his name. She let out a little shudder as the memories of their encounters came unbidden to her mind.

"Does...uh...honeysuckle and moonlight ring a bell?" Penny teased, the salacious look of earlier in the afternoon back on her face.

"Oh, you have a vivid imagination," Amanda denied, though deep down she knew there was nothing Penny's imagination could conjure up more vividly that her own mind had after her experiences with Lee.

"Amanda, it looks like the only fun I'm going to have this weekend is hearing about the fun _you_ are having this weekend," she cheered, urging her on.

"Oh, no," Amanda whimpered and shook her head.

"Would you just please get started and start having some? I'm going to bed," Penny informed her as she walked toward her room. "Just wait a few discreet moments and uh..." she gave Amanda two thumbs up and a big grin, "...give her the gas." She laughed, waved to her and called in a singsong voice, "Good-night."

"Does Princess Di talk like that?"Amanda muttered with a shake of her head before being startled slightly by Lee tapping on the window. "Oh, come in," she snapped in irritation.

"Hi," Lee greeted her with a smile as he entered the room through the large window.

"I thought I was supposed to be undercover," Amanda scolded him as she leaned back in her chair and stared at him coolly.

"You are," Lee confirmed with a nod. "Why, is anything wrong," he asked, his voice tinged with concern as he closed the windows and sat on the arm of the chair across from her.

"Oh, no, no" Amanda retorted sarcastically. "That was a very subtle performance you gave at the window. She thinks we're having an oh-ho-ho,"

"A what?" Lee asked, confusion etched on his face at her phrasing.

"You heard me. She thinks you're cute." Amanda scowled at him for his lack of discretion.

"I am cute," he parried as he flashed her a dimpled grin, amused by her annoyance and by the fact that she still couldn't bring herself to admit that they were indeed having as she put it an "Oh-ho-ho," despite their better judgment.

"Not that cute," Amanda shot back as she tried to deflect the feelings that that adorable smile always stirred in her. She was still mad at him for all but ignoring her and not just on this case. He had been since the night he'd told her that he had carried her out of James Delano's house. The blush that had crept into his face when he'd said it made it seem as if he were embarrassed by it, whereas she thought it was heroic and even a little romantic for him to get her out of there and make sure that she was safe. During this case, he'd been using the excuse that the Princess wasn't supposed to know that she worked for The Agency to keep her at a distance. She didn't see what the big deal was with Penny knowing that they were working together. In fact, she thought that might even make her feel more secure in knowing that there was one more person looking out for her.

Lee sighed, a little irritated at her comment. He shook it off. W_hy should I care? It's not as if we're a real couple anyway? _he thought_. But you could be if you'd just tell you that you're crazy about her, _he argued with himself.He switched gears and began to talk to her about what he'd learned. During the conversation, the tension between them had eased slightly when he'd uttered his "Yes, Ma'am," in a southern accent and Amanda had responded by doing the same which caused him to smile. When they'd wrapped up their talk about the case and he saw her smiling again, he couldn't help teasing her a little.

"Not that cute, huh?" Lee questioned in a light teasing tone as he slipped from his perch, his grin widening as he approached her and knelt in front of her, his hands resting lightly on her knees.

"NO," she protested and stubbornly folded her arms across her chest as a hot flush crept over her cheeks at the way he was kneeling between her legs. The way that his hands were sliding up her denim-clad thighs was making her squirm. She fixed him with a steely gaze and added pointedly, "You're not that cute at all." _Liar, _she chided herself. _When are you going to admit to yourself that you find him not only cute, but downright irresistible?_

"You don't think so?" Lee inquired casually as he tried to hide his bruised feelings, leaned in closer and brushed a soft kiss to her lips as his hands slid further up her body, yanking her blouse from the waistband of her jeans and gently caressing her skin beneath.

Amanda uncrossed her arms, just enough to push on his chest and answered, "No."

Lee captured both of her hands in his to stop her from pushing him away and challenged, "Well, let's just see what I can do to change your mind." He reached both hands behind her to grasp her bottom and pull her to the edge of her chair, one of her legs on each side of him so that she was almost straddling him. He then worked open the buttons of her blouse one by one, kissing each new patch of skin he exposed, until he had it completely opened, he then reached behind her to unhook her bra.

As many times as they'd made love, how could she say he wasn't cute? He could see in her eyes every time she looked at him that she wanted him every bit as much as he wanted her: that she ached for him the same way that he ached for her. His hands tangled in her thick curls as he teased her lips with his tongue, practically begging her to open for him.

"Lee, I said no!" She reminded him bluntly as she pushed more forcefully on his chest.

Lee looked at her, a clearly startled and a bit hurt expression on his face. "I thought you were just saying no to the cute thing." He rose to his feet angrily and snapped, "What the hell is the matter with you?" After all the prior times that she'd given in to him and even one or two when she'd initiated things, why was she saying no to him now? He could see the dark look of desire in her eyes so he knew she still wanted him, so what was it?

"I can't just turn in on and off like you can," Amanda explained coolly as she tried to hide the hurt that his indifference had caused her. She let out a deep sigh once she knew that it was useless and thought, _What the hell? Might as well be honest. _"The way you've been treating me as if I'm invisible since this case started has really hurt my feelings."

"Amanda, you know that's not personal, right?" _She did...didn't she? _ It's just better if the princess doesn't know you work for us. You can get more information from her that way which makes her safer because it's gets us closer to finding out who's trying to kill the prince. That means contact zero between you and me."

Amanda chuckled sardonically as she indicated her open blouse with a flourish of her hands and asked dryly, "You call this contact zero?"

Lee couldn't help but laugh and responded, "Okay, no, but I couldn't help myself. I do happen to think _you're_ pretty cute." _Did I just say that out loud? _He'd been trying so hard not to let that show. He covered his chagrin with a devilish smirk as he knelt in front of her again. He leaned in closer and whispered to her, "You sure I can't change your opinion about me?"

When she winced, and he heard her say, "Ow, he stopped and backed up a bit.

"What? What is it," he asked in alarm.

"My ankle," she answered. "You bumped against it when you..."

"Oh, sorry," Lee apologized as he pulled back from her and stood, mentally kicking himself for hurting her. That was the last thing he'd wanted. He couldn't stand to see her hurting. If she only knew how much it had pained him to see her drugged and unconscious at the Delano estate and how much he'd feared for her life in that moment, how he'd even threatened Delano with bodily injury, she'd never again question his feelings for her.

There was a look on his face that she just couldn't quite read. Was it pity? Remorse? Anger? "You know, I should...uh...get to bed anyway. It's...it's...uh...it's getting pretty late," she sputtered awkwardly as she pulled her blouse closed. She was suddenly feeling embarrassed that she'd nearly given into him when she was still mad at him.

Before Amanda could protest further, Lee had swept her into his arms, looked longingly into her eyes and inquired, "Which room is yours?"

The way that Lee was holding her so gently combined with the softened look on his face melted Amanda's resolve and she pointed to the down the hall. "That one." Was her fantasy of him carrying her to bed going to come true? Would they, for once, actually spend a whole night together? _No, _she argued with herself. Penny was just down the hall and she wasn't supposed to know anything, so how would that look? She couldn't exactly take the risk of Lee being seen exiting her room in the morning, could she? Of course, Penny would probably just brush it off as her "having fun."

"Here we are," Lee crooned as he carried her into her room.

"Yeah, here we are," Amanda replied nervously. When Lee still held her, she added, "So, you...uh...can...uh put me down now."

"Oh, right," Lee heard the disappointment resounding in his own voice as he set her gingerly on her feet, but couldn't bring himself to leave yet, her open blouse was taunting him as he watched her limp to the dresser and open a drawer. "Here, let me help you," he offered as he stepped further into the room and closed the door behind him. He was feeling enormously guilty that he'd hurt her, even if it was unintentional.

"You wanna' help me get dressed for bed," Amanda questioned disbelievingly as she pulled her cotton nightgown from the drawer and then slammed it closed more forcefully than she'd intended to.

"Why not? I've helped you get _un_dressed several times, haven't I?" he teased with an impish grin as he lifted her up to perch on the dresser's surface, and then pulled the nightgown from her hands. "Hmm, is this your idea of a sexy nightgown?"

"Oh, shut up," Amanda frowned as she snatched it from his hand. Once his comment had really sunk in, as a thought dawned on her, a blush crept into her cheeks. "You were listening?"

Lee laughed and replied, "Not intentionally...at first, but then when I hear the two of you talking about sexy nightgowns, I couldn't resist. So...uh...do you think you'll ever wear a sexy nightgown for me?"

"I didn't bring a sexy nightgown," Amanda countered challengingly, but couldn't help flushing at the way he was staring at her so intently. She wondered that herself. Would their relationship, whatever it was, ever progress to the point that she would feel comfortable wearing sexy lingerie for him? She thought for a moment back to Joe and how in the beginning, she'd done so to entice him, but toward the end of their marriage, it had become more of a band-aid in a desperate attempt to fix what couldn't be fixed. She wasn't sure how she felt about sexy nightgowns anymore.

"What else was it you said," Lee teased as he pulled the cotton gown from her hands and dropped it to the floor. He then leaned in closer, nipped at her earlobe and whispered low in her ear, "It could be better without the sexy nightgown?" When she didn't protest this time, he pushed her blouse and cardigan off her shoulders, and then slid her bra down her arms. Mindful of her injured ankle, he spread her legs to stand between them as he captured her lips in a fiery kiss, this time getting the response from her that he'd so desperately wanted earlier.

Amanda moaned against him as his tongue plundered her mouth, as hers began an exploration of its own while her hands travelled up to his chest and tugged at the vest he wore. She pulled her mouth from his as she yanked futilely at the bottom of it and insisted, "You're gonna' have to stop wearing these." She remembered their encounter in the helicopter and how she'd been denied the pleasure of really touching him because of one of these garments. Lee obediently raised his arms over his head to allow her to take it off of him. "They only get in the way."

"I'll remember that," he promised as he stepped out of his dress shoes, while Amanda deftly loosened his tie, pushed his suit jacket to the floor then began working on the buttons on his shirt.

"Good," Amanda nodded as she yanked his shirttails from his pants. "It makes it harder to touch you."

"Just think of it as a challenge," he teased as he helped her by undoing the cuffs and shrugged out of his shirt. Amanda wasted no time in taking full advantage of his now-bare chest. She began running her hands up and down it, relishing the feel of his well-sculpted muscles beneath her fingers.

"While we're on the subject, I think I like you in the long skirts better," Lee told her as he nuzzled her neck while working at the button on her jeans, soon getting it and her zipper open.

"Oh?" she questioned as she sighed at the feel of his lips on her neck and lowered her hands to the front of his pants to caress him through the fabric.

"Mm-hm," he murmured against her soft skin, "less work involved..." He nipped at her pulse point again and added, "And much easier access."

"Oh, well, just think of it as a challenge," she fired his own words back at him with a wicked gleam in her eyes.

"You know me, I'm always _up_ for a challenge," Lee replied while thrusting his hips toward her questing hands.

"So, you are," Amanda confirmed, her eyes dancing in excitement as she had finally worked her hand inside his boxers to stroke him in earnest.

"Oh, you are very good at making me that way," Lee responded as he pulled back from her long enough to peel her jeans down her long legs, taking her panties with them. He paused and took great care when he reached her injured ankle. When she was fully exposed to him, he made a move back toward her, but she stopped him again with her hand on his chest.

"Uh-uh," she scolded as she looked down at his half-dressed state, "Yours too." Ever since they'd had their conversation about his legs, she'd wanted to have him completely naked in front of her. "I mean, after all your legs are not bad," she teased with a jovial laugh.

"Oh, are we going there again?" Lee joked with a devilish grin as he kicked his pants aside, his boxers following. "I seem to recall making you change your mind about that." He moved closer to her again and continued, "Now, let me see if I can remember how I did that." He dropped to his knees in front of her, ran his hands up her thighs, his lips following their path as he trailed kisses up the inside of first one, and then the other. He paused when he reached the damp curls between her thighs and mused, "Do you remember?" He looked up at her expectantly.

"Please," she pleaded. The anticipation was killing her, her desire for him was so fierce that she felt as if she'd explode if he didn't start touching her again...and soon

"Was it this," Lee asked as he flicked his tongue out to taste her.

"Yes," Amanda whispered hoarsely, but began whimpering when he stopped.

"Are you sure." He looked back up at her with a daring grin. "Maybe, it was more like this." He placed the softest of kisses to her abdomen with his fingertips just barely skimming the surface of her thighs.

"No, that wasn't it," Amanda scolded him, her voice a ragged whisper. "You were in the right place the first time."

"Oh?" he teased. "Here then?" He then lowered his lips to her center again, this time taking her sensitive nub in his mouth. He suckled it greedily for a moment, causing her to cry out, but then stopped again and gazed up at her. "Was that it?"

"Oh, yes, please don't stop," Amanda whimpered in frustration. "Please...please..."

Lee grinned at her in satisfaction at hearing her beg for him when she'd been making him crazy by trying to push him away. He cupped her bottom, pulled her to edge of the dresser so he would have easier access to resume his task. He was thoroughly enjoying her response as he devoured her with his lips and tongue, taking all of her in his mouth while he slipped a finger into her, stroking her inside while his tongues stroked her outside. As he continued his assault on her, he delighted in hearing her moans of pleasure while her fingers ran through his hair. He took an extreme amount of pleasure in the fact that she held his head there and bucked against him. That told him all that he needed to know about just how much she wanted him there.

"Yes, yes, yes," Amanda cried. She threw her head back and closed her eyes as the sensations washed over her like a tidal wave. She cried out his name, shuddering and gasping for breath as her release hit her hard. She had no time to come down from her high when she felt Lee hands gripping her hips and pushing into her.

"Amanda, look at me," he growled He grasped the back of her neck with one hand while his other was still at her hip. When her eyes fluttered open, he kissed her softly, withdrew from her, and then pushed back into her, watching her eyes the whole time. "Is this what you want?" he demanded as he repeated the movement. When she didn't answer, he did it again. "Tell me, Amanda, do you want me?"

"YES!' she cried. "Yes, I want you." She pushed her hips up against his, hooking her legs behind him.

"Good," Lee stated in smug satisfaction as he began to thrust into her harder and faster, spurred on by her long legs wrapped around him, her hands gripping his shoulders tightly. "Oh, Amanda," he cried. The electricity coursed through his body as he moved against her, driving himself as deep into her as he could until he felt her squeezing him tightly when another climax hit her and he heard her crying out his name repeatedly. "Oh, so good, Amanda, so good," he gasped in stuttering breaths as his own climax ripped through him and he exploded within her, filling her completely. He lavished her face and neck with kisses as the last vestiges of his orgasm subsided. He then glanced briefly in the mirror at his disheveled appearance and couldn't help but chuckle.

"See what I mean?" Amanda teased. "Isn't it better without the sexy nightgown?" She was hoping that she could use that as a reason not to wear one for him. That would be just too...intimate and he still acted as if there were nothing between them except raw physical need. No, if he wanted the sexy nightgown, he'd have to earn it, she decided.

Lee laughed at her attempt at levity as he withdrew from her one final time. While he knew she'd meant it as a joke, it sent a painful stab of jealousy through him at the idea that she'd worn sexy lingerie for her ex. D_on't be stupid,_ he argued with himself. _She did have two kids with him, after all. _For some reason, though that thought made him feel even worse. "So, you never did answer me. You ever gonna' wear a sexy nightgown for me?"

_Great, _she thought miserably. _So much for that idea. _"Well, that kind of thing is usually reserved for couples and we're...we're not..."

"Right," Lee confirmed, but he couldn't help the downheartedness that took him over at hearing those words from her mouth. "But what if-" Lee's question was interrupted by a knock on the door. "Oh, crap," he spat out as he scrambled for his discarded clothes.

Amanda hopped down from the dresser, flinching as she'd momentarily forgotten about her injury. She hobbled to retrieve her fallen nightgown and pulled it quickly over her head, "Just stay out of sight," she hissed at Lee just as Penny's voice was sounding on the other side of the door.

"Amanda, are you okay," Penny called.

Amanda opened the door a crack to face her friend on the other side and said, "Yeah, fine, thanks."

"You sure?" Penny asked with a concerned look etched on her face. "I thought I heard arguing earlier."

"Oh, yeah, that," Amanda said. "Well, that...uh...Mr. Stetson...you know...He...uh...he has a bit of a temper."

Lee glared at her from behind the door as Penny teased, "Sometimes that can be a little fun."

"Oh, no, no, no. No fun," Amanda sputtered as her face flushed again.

"No?" her friend teased.

"No," Amanda stated adamantly.

"Well, I just wanted to check on you. If everything's okay, I'll just go back to bed, but I want to hear all about the fun you _didn't _have in the morning," Penny insisted with a knowing grin.

"Seeya' in the morning," Amanda replied as she quickly closed the door. She then turned to face Lee and said, "You should...uh..."

"Go," Lee finished for her. "Yeah, you're right, I...uh...should." He hastily got dressed again, and then listened at the door for a moment to make sure the coast was clear before opening it. "So...Uh...I'll..." he gestured out in to the hallway.

"See you tomorrow," Amanda finished for him.

"Right," Lee said.

"Right," Amanda said.

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As Amanda waved good-bye at the retreating vehicle, she answered Lee's question of how she'd explained his presence in her room to the princess, "She thinks we're having a thing."

"A thing," Lee questioned with an amused expression on his face that Amanda still couldn't say the word affair.

"Yes, a thing," Amanda affirmed with a curt nod. "You, me, she thinks we're having a thing."

"Well, aren't we?" Lee parried with a challenging look in his eye, daring her to contradict him.

"Eyes straight ahead, Scarecrow," she fired back.

Lee turned, but couldn't help the smile that crossed his face as he thought of his and Amanda's "thing."

.


	8. Something Between You and Amanda?

Author's Note: I'm taking a little liberty with this episode, giving them just a bit more time before the Russians show up to take them away.

**Chapter 8-Is There Something Between You and Amanda?**

"Saved By the Bells"

After being the bearer of bad news, Dirk had left as quickly as he could, leaving Billy and Lee alone. Billy couldn't help noticing the pained look on his agent's face and how he turned away from him He frowned, then cleared his throat and reminded him, "Lee, we're...uh...not supposed to take this personally. It's our objectivity that which makes us effective." He was worried about him. He had begun to see a real change in him since he'd been paired with the exuberant, bubbly housewife. He was far less reckless, both on the job and in his personal life. He'd even started to come out of his self-built shell a bit; was less guarded. The fact that they weren't allowed to become involved in a rescue attempt for Amanda was a blow on more than one level.

Lee turned just slightly and countered, "Amanda is dying in my place. That's as personal as it gets." He felt incredibly guilty and selfish. He'd only wanted to take a vacation to get away from her and his increasingly intense feelings for her, figuring that he could lose himself for a while in some nameless, faceless beauty. He figured something like that would help him temporarily forget the confounding woman who'd captured his heart. During their last sexual escapade, she'd reminded him bluntly that they were not a couple, that the things she'd done in other relationships, such as wearing sexy lingerie, were off-limits to him; her heart was off-limits to him.

"If it were another agent, would you feel the same way," Billy questioned pointedly. He'd suspected for a while now that his two charges were falling for each other...and hard. He'd believed that it had not been acted on with the way that Lee behaved around Amanda, treating her as if she were a pest. Upon seeing the aguish in Lee, he wondered now if there weren't more to it; if they _had_ become involved on a personal and more intimate level.

Lee whipped around and answered, "I don't know." He'd just lied to Billy, when in reality he did know. He knew that he'd never be able to live without Amanda in his life not after...

"Is there something between you and Amanda?" He knew that he probably shouldn't ask, but he had to know. He had to determine if Lee was headed for another mental collapse over yet another loss of someone that he cared deeply for.

"Oh," Lee shook his head with a sigh, as he tried his damndest to keep his emotions in check in front of his boss and long-time friend.

"Well, why was she at your apartment?" Billy probed further at Lee's non-answer. He was thinking that it was a perfectly reasonable question with the way that Lee was reading to Amanda's abduction. He'd sensed since meeting Amanda, that there was something simmering just below the surface between the pair. _And threatening to boil over, _he mentally added.

"She was feeding my fish," Lee responded argumentatively. That part was indeed true, but there was so much more there that he knew he couldn't tell Billy about. How could he tell Billy that the one woman he wanted more than anything was the one he couldn't have, the one who wouldn't have him?

"This one isn't easy," Billy attempted to console him as he realized that Lee wasn't being entirely truthful with him. He hadn't gotten to the position that he was in without being able to tell when someone wasn't being completely honest. He hoped that someday, the younger man would confide in him, but he knew today was not that day. "Give it some time."

"I can't _live _with this one, Billy," Lee said. In truth, he couldn't live if Amanda were to die. He'd die himself and he knew it.

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Lee watched warily, weapon still trained on the retreating golf cart containing the Soviet agents, making sure they were heading far away from them. He only lowered it when he heard Amanda's shaky voice beside him.

"They were gonna' kill me," she rasped as the tears flowed down her face while Lee dropped his gun into his lap and worked quickly to untie her bound hands. "They thought I was you. I told them that I wasn't, but they wouldn't listen to me. They stuffed me in a crate." Her voice grew more hoarse as she poured out all of her fears to him. She knew that he hated crying, but she couldn't help it. She'd been terrified that she'd never seen her family...or for that matter, see him again. Not to mention what would have happened to her children. With Joe running around the world, they'd basically be orphans.

"I know, I know," Lee crooned in a soothing tone as he worked on the knots.

"I don't know how anyone could mistake me for you. You're so much taller,' she whimpered in a frantic voice.

"Hey," he whispered as he worked the last of the knots free, pulled her against him, and wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace. "I'm sorry," he apologized guiltily. He knew that her fear was entirely his fault. If he hadn't been stubbornly determined to try to bury his feelings for her, she'd have never been at his place to feed his fish while he was away and would never have been in the position to be mistaken for him. "Take it easy, take it easy," he chanted like a mantra in a soothing voice. "It's all over."

"I was...I was scared," Amanda said in a soft voice as her tears abated in the shelter of his protective arms. It felt so good to be held by him again...safe.

"I know, I know. So was I," Lee admitted. In fact, he'd never been so scared in his life. While he was terrified to admit it to her, Amanda had become his lifeline. His fear for her life had also become fear for his own without her. He glanced briefly backward to see the other cart disappearing down the cart path over a hill then pulled her tighter to him and said, "It's all over." When he realized that her terrified shaking had stopped, he gazed down at her to find that she was now just nestled comfortably against his shoulder. He reached with one hand to brush the tears from her face. This motion caused Amanda to look up at him, her lips mere inches from his.

Amanda, at Lee's kind gesture of wiping away her tears and at seeing the look of worry on his face, was deeply moved. She lifted her hand to caress his face softly and said, "Thank you...for saving my life."

"Just demonstrating my loyalty to my partner," he shrugged as he echoed the words he'd spoken to her before this whole mess had begun. He became a little unnerved by how she was looking at him as if her were her hero when it was his own selfishness and stupidity that had led to abduction. His discomfort grew when she used her hand on his face to pull him closer and became even worse when her lips met his in a soft kiss her tongue lightly teasing the corner of his mouth.

Amanda reached her other hand to the back of his neck in an attempt to pull him closer. She then slid her lips to his neck, then his earlobe and whispered in a still-shaky voice, "Lee, make love to me." After being faced with death, she desperately needed to feel alive and no one could make her feel more alive that Lee.

Lee pulled back awkwardly, removed her hands from his face and neck, clasped them in his and shook his head, saying, "Hey, now's not the time for that." He reflected back on Billy's question to him about there being something between them. He had to acknowledge, at least to himself, that there was. If it were any other woman, throwing herself at him, he had no doubt that he'd give into the temptation in a heartbeat, but this...this was Amanda and she was...different...special.

Amanda, feeling a little hurt by his actions, swallowed hard and tried to justify her actions, "Lee, I...I...I just wanted to express my gratitude."

"No, Amanda, not like that," Lee stated adamantly. He was unwilling to take advantage of her while she was still vulnerable. He gently squeezed her hand and said, "The only gratitude that I need is to know that you're safe."

"That...that's really very sweet," Amanda responded with a warm smile, her frayed nerves slowly becoming normal again with his kind support.

"What do you say we get out of here, huh?" he suggested to get out of the awkward situation he found himself in. While he would like nothing better than to make tender love to her to ease her fears and offer her the comfort that he knew she was really after, he couldn't use her that way.

"Yeah, good idea," Amanda replied with a nod.

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"Think of something, think of something," Amanda insisted frantically as she watched him nervously pacing in the tight quarters they were being held in.

"I _am_ thinking," Lee grumbled. "Just relax, will ya'?"

"Oh, sure, easy for you to say. You're not the one they're gonna' stuff in a refrigerator and ship off to Moscow."

"No, I'm the one they're gonna' put up against a wall and shoot," Lee fired back angrily with a roll of his eyes. Didn't she get that they were _both_ in danger? He grabbed the chair at the end of the table and sank into it, running both hands through his hair in frustration.

"I'm sorry," Amanda said apologetically. She knew she had not been thinking about what the Russians would do to him. This was just as scary a situation as she'd been in when they'd first taken her, but somehow, it didn't quite seem so now that she was not alone. Having him here with her made her feel that no matter what might happen, somehow, they would find a way to make it out of this...together.

"No, it's okay." Lee nodded and placed a comforting hand on her arm in acceptance of her apology. He knew that she was just as worried as he was. He glanced down for a moment as the simple contact jolted him, and then looked back at her wondering if she'd felt it too.

Amanda looked at him in wonder for a moment at how much such a simple, comforting touch could make her feel. She knew that's what he'd intended by it, but it felt so much...more, like touching a live wire.

Before either knew what was happening, they were locked in each other's arms, Amanda in Lee's lap, kissing fiercely, tongues dueling as they tugged at each other's clothing, both trying to get as close as they could to each other one more time, knowing that it may be their last. Lee had yanked up the tails of Amanda's blouse and was frantically working to open her pants while Amanda had pushed his jacket to the floor and was tugging at his shirt under the vest he wore. She tore her mouth from his and said, "What is it with you and these stupid vests," Amanda grumbled because she couldn't seem to touch enough of his skin and if this was going to be it for them, she wanted to touch him..._all_ of him.

"What about you and the skirts? These pants are a pain," he fired back as he lifted her up with one arm, using the other to sweep the contents of the table onto the floor before lowering her to it to lie on her back. Amanda took a moment to toe off her sneakers, giving Lee room to slide her pants down her legs while she tugged upward on his vest again. "Let me," he said as he hurriedly yanked the offending garment over his head before resuming his task of undressing her, making quick work of the buttons on her blouse, it, and her bra and panties soon hit the floor.

"Pants too," she told him with a nod as she sat up and unbuttoned his shirt. She was soon tossing it and his tie aside while Lee slipped out of his shoes and discarded the rest of his clothing before returning his attention to Amanda. He kissed her feverishly, one hand caressing her bare back, the other sliding between her legs to stroke her while her hands roamed up his chest, teasing his nipples. "Lee," she gasped tearing her mouth from his when he touched her and threw her head back as she hooked her legs behind his.

"Like that, do you?" he teased as he exerted more pressure.

"Oh, yes," she replied with a deep sigh of pleasure.

"Well, you could have had it sooner if you'd been wearing a skirt," he reminded her with a mischievous grin.

Amanda grasped his butt firmly and demanded in a husky voice, "Enough foreplay. We may not have much time."

"No, we may not," Lee agreed as he gripped her hip with one hand and guided himself into her with the other. He emitted a loud groan as he did so, thrilled a feeling how wet she was for him already. Was it possible that she felt the same way he did?

"Oh, Lee," Amanda cried as he entered her, amazed at how she only felt truly complete when he was inside her. She raised her hips up to meet his as she lay back on the table, arching her back to draw him in deeper.

"Amanda," Lee growled as he began to rock against her, never fully withdrawing from her. He reveled in the feeling of her rising up to meet him, her eagerness for completion rivaling his own. He placed on hand on each of her thighs to drive himself into her deeper and harder. If they were going to die, this is how he wanted to remember her, willingly giving of herself as well as taking from him. "I love being inside you," he murmured as he relentlessly thrust into her, elated that she was there to meet his thrusts every time.

"Feels so good, so, so good," Amanda cried as she was catapulted over the edge. She gripped the side of the table, crying out his name as her climax sent her on a roller coaster ride. She bucked against him as wave after wave of pleasure overtook her.

"Ohhhh," Lee groaned one final time as Amanda's spasms sent him on a roller coaster ride of his own and he erupted within her. He rode out the wave of his release, trying to give her everything he could until he had no more to give. He tugged on her hands and pulled her into his arms, peppering her face with kisses. He cradled her to him and in that moment, wanted nothing more than to tell her how he really felt about her in case he never got another chance. He pulled back for a moment and was about to do just that until they were both startled by the sound of voices. "Shit!" he cursed as he scrambled to retrieve their clothing, both of them hurrying to get dressed again while he sighed in frustration that the moment was lost.

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Lee took a deep breath as the guy on the other side of the door gaped at him in disbelief. He couldn't believe that he was doing this himself, but he figured if he couldn't work up the nerve to tell Amanda how he felt about her, he could at least do this small thing to show her what his true feelings were.

"Are you serious?" The guy on the other side of the door said staring incredulously at his ID.

"Yeah, I'm serious. Dead serious," he barked as he held his ID closer to the surly man's face. "This isn't a Cracker Jack prize, Pal. This is the federal government and let me tell you something, I've got a friend at the IRS. Now, Amanda King is a very, very good friend of mine and if you don't show up at Jamie King's birthday party like you're supposed to, I'll make damn sure you get audited all the way back to '67. You get me?"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," the other man acquiesced as he held up his hands in surrender.

"Good," Lee stated with a firm nod and put his ID back into his pocket.

"Very, very good friend, huh?" the other man repeated. "There something between you?"

"What?" Lee was startled by the question, so similar to Billy's when he'd protested not being able to go after Amanda.

"Well, I figure there must be or why else would a fed like you give a crap about an eight-year-old's birthday party." He gave a shrug as if it didn't matter to him one way or another, but that was the only thing that he thought made sense.

Lee jabbed a finger into the guy's chest and demanded, "You just make sure you show up to her kid's party and keep your big, red nose out of the rest of it, huh?"

"Sure, whatever." He shrugged again and shook his head.

"Good," Lee repeated with a firm nod as he sauntered away with a satisfied smile on his face. It was rather funny to him that this was the second time he'd been asked if there was something between then this week. As he walked away and thought of the events that had occurred over the past few days, he had to conclude that, yes, there _was_ something between him and Amanda. What that something was and what it might turn out to be in the future... Well, he didn't yet know that. Only time would tell, but he could no longer deny that there definitely was..._something _between them...something that kept him coming back for more.


	9. In-Depth Interview

**Chapter 9-In-depth Interview**

"Sudden Death"

"Okay, I mean, what do I know? I'm only an assistant agent."

"_Apprentice_ agent," Lee corrected with a grin. He found himself unable to resist goading her a little.

"Purist," Amanda muttered, but then in a more chipper tone, asked, "Is there anything else I can do?"

Lee's head abruptly turned as he heard a voice behind him, "Yeah, this," he said as he reached for her.

At hearing the voice, Amanda began, "Oh, n-" but her words were halted by Lee's lips on hers, his hand on the back of her neck pulling her to him as he tangled his fingers in her hair. She couldn't help the moans that escaped her at the feel of his mouth on hers, stirring the fire within her that only he could. She slid her hands up to his arms about to move them further up to his chest and was just beginning to really enjoy the firm pressure of his lips against hers when it was gone.

"I hope you got all you came for, Mrs. King, interview-wise, that is," Lee said loudly to her for the coach's benefit, but fixed her with a mischievous grin and a wink.

She pulled her hands abruptly from where she'd rested them on his arms. She was startled for a moment by the fact that the kiss had been about protecting his cover, not about his desire to kiss her. Even though she was irritated by it, she couldn't help but be a little unnerved by the way that Lee was grinning at her as if he wanted to devour her whole.

"Enjoy your work, do you?" the coach questioned her from behind Lee.

Amanda couldn't resist toying with Lee a little the way that he'd just toyed with her. Smiling broadly, she said, "Yes, very much." When she saw Lee nodding toward her with that infuriating grin, making her very warm in the cool night air, she then turned her smile to Lee and said, "Thank you so much." When his smile just became even wider, she went on, "I have a deadline to meet."

"What was that all about?" the coach demanded as Amanda crept away.

"That's...just...uh...good rapport with the press," Lee responded. "I promised her an _in-depth _interview." He grinned salaciously, however, inwardly, he cringed, hating the idea that the coach would have that kind of idea about Amanda in his mind, but it couldn't be helped. He had to protect his cover above all else, at least until he got to the bottom of things.

Amanda chuckled slightly at hearing these words as she walked away. "In-depth interview," she murmured with a smile. She hadn't made it very far before she head Lee's voice in the dark.

"Amanda," Lee hissed once he'd finally escaped from the coach intense scrutiny. "Amanda, you still out here?" He'd seen the startled look on her face when he'd kissed her and felt the need to explain, not to mention that that kiss and the way she'd responded to it had stirred an ache in him that he knew would keep him from sleeping until it had been eased.

Amanda, still wanting to play with him a bit for the way that he'd played with her, trotted away toward the locker rooms where she'd first seen Lee earlier in the day. She was careful to make certain that he'd seen her. She'd always heard from the girls in the steno pool that Lee liked the chase and she couldn't wait to see just how much that was true. Would he chase her? Was their kiss weighing on his mind as much as it was hers? Had it affected him the same way, leaving him with an empty feeling of wanting more? She didn't know, but she planned to find out.

_What the hell is she doing?_ Lee thought as he followed behind her. _I know she heard me calling for her. "_Amanda!" he called louder this time. "Dammit," he grumbled as he hurried to try to catch up with her when he watched her enter the darkened locker room. He cautiously entered the room behind her, looking around for her, trying to figure out where exactly she'd gone. When he saw no sign of her, he began to get more frustrated than their thwarted kiss had left him. "Amanda," he called again at not seeing her. He walked by a bench where he found her jacket and purse, but no still, there was no sign of her in person.

"Looking for me," Amanda crooned in a low, raspy voice behind him as she placed her hands on his sore shoulders and pushed firmly down on them to urge him to sit on the bench in front of her.

Lee jumped, startled by the contact from behind him. "What are you doing?" he questioned uneasily as he began to turn toward her.

Amanda kept a firm grip on his shoulders. "Mm-mm, don't turn around," she whispered as she pushed again to urge him downward. "When we're undercover, you're not supposed to look at me, remember?"

"Oof," Lee groaned as he landed on the bench. With his sore muscles keeping him from fighting her, he was too weak to protest much further. His groan of pain soon turned into one of pleasure as Amanda expertly worked at the tense muscles of his neck and shoulders. "Oh, that feels good." Her hands on him felt incredible, soothing not only his battered muscles, but began stoking that internal fire within him in a way that only she could.

"It could feel a lot better if we get this bulky sweater off you," Amanda suggested as she tugged at the bottom of it, encouraging him to raise his arms so she could pull it off. "What is it with you and the layers, anyway?" She shook her head. How many times did they have to have this talk anyway?

Lee turned toward her and retorted, "Hey, you just said you didn't like the vests and I'm not wearing a vest."

"Well, you're not wearing the sweater now, either," Amanda parried pointedly as she tossed the offending garment aside, and then did the same with the polo shirt he wore underneath it. With those thick barriers out of the way, she began to knead at his shoulders again, relishing the low groans emanating from his as she did so.

"Ohhhh," Lee groaned. He found that the warm pressure of her hands on him was both exhilarating and exciting him, especially after the kiss they'd just shared. "God, Amanda, you are way too good at that." How exactly had she gotten so good at that, he wondered. Was this another thing that she had done for her ex-husband. He quickly tossed that thought aside. He did not want go down the path to imagining what else she might have done with him. He leaned into the gentle pressure of her hands and decided to just enjoy it while it lasted.

Amanda leaned in close as she continued her ministrations, "You know what you really need,' she whispered low in his ear.

"Hmmm?" Lee murmured, half-question, half-sigh of contentment. Amanda stopped what she was doing, walked around to face him, then knelt in front of him, her hands slowly sliding up his thighs toward the button of his jeans. "Amanda," he hissed as her fingers barely brushed his manhood. She wasn't going to do what he thought she was going to do...was she?"

Amanda, thoroughly enjoying the look of anticipation on his face, took his hands in hers to urge him up. "What you need is a nice, hot shower. That'll ease those sore muscles in a hurry."

"I've already had my shower," Lee told her with a grin as he rose, throwing the words she'd used to deflect the horny football players earlier back in her face.

"Oh, but this would be strictly a therapeutic shower," Amanda teased as she led him toward the showers.

Lee pulled his hands from her grasp, pushed her roughly against the nearby lockers, and growled low in her ear, "It would be more therapeutic if you joined me in that shower," just before he lowered his lips to her neck.

Amanda squealed in delight both at the contact with his lips on her skin and at her ability to get him right where she wanted him. "I...I...uh suppose I could take one for the team." She gasped as she felt Lee's hands working the buttons on her blouse loose and his hands caressing the bare skin beneath. Before she knew it, he had relieved her of both her blouse and her bra and had one nipple in his mouth while his hand was kneading the other. "Oh, Lee," she moaned with a shudder before pushing him away slightly and nodded and said firmly, "Shower." She then stepped out of her heels before moving to unfasten his jeans, her fingers just lightly grazing him. She gained a great thrill from teasing him as she pushed his jeans and boxers down to his ankles.

"God, Amanda, what are you trying to do to me," Lee groaned. The anticipation was building and he couldn't help wishing to God that she would just touch him already. How much more could a guy take of her teasing before it would be too much to bear?

Amanda nodded downward, "Shoes," she ordered.

Lee sighed and obediently untied his sneakers, toed them off, and then kicked his pants and boxers aside, "You satisfied now?" he asked with his hands poised on his hips as he stood naked in front of her.

"Mm-mm," Amanda shook her head as she began running her tongue along her upper lip to continue enticing him. "Not yet. Someone promised me an _in-depth _interview, Mr. Newcombe."

"You heard that?" Lee questioned. Was that why she was slowly torturing him to death? When Amanda nodded, he crooned in a husky voice, "Well, I think that can be arranged," as he reached for her, crushing her against him as he captured her lips with his own in a searing, open-mouthed kiss that took her breath away while he dropped her skirt to the floor. He then moved his mouth to nip at her earlobe, knowing that it drove her crazy. "See how much easier it is when you wear skirts," Lee murmured against her skin as he ran his hands up her thighs and hooked his fingers in her panties to yank them down.

"Oh, much easier," Amanda agreed as he began to stroke her. She found herself giving into the sensation for a moment until she remembered her ultimate goal. She wriggled out of his grasp and sprinted to the shower.

"Amanda," Lee groaned in frustration as he heard her turn the water on. He shook his head at her brutal teasing yet he knew he'd been left with no choice but to follow her. As he stepped into the already steam-filled shower, he paused for a moment and his breath caught in his throat at seeing her wet, naked form before him. Her back was to him, displaying her taut bottom, the curve of her waist, and he found himself mesmerized by the water trickling down her back.

Knowing he was behind her, she goaded him in a sultry tone, "Are you coming?"

"Not yet," he responded mischievously as he reached for her hips and pushed her up against she shower wall. He pressed his erection against her as he clamped his lips down hard on her neck and slipped one finger into her causing her to cry out. "Is this in-depth enough for you?" He whispered low in her ear.

"Not yet," she repeated his words as she sighed at the feeling of him stroking her inside. She pushed back against him just enough to free herself, turned, dropped to her knees and guided him into her mouth.

"Ohhhh," Lee groaned in a combination of surprise and enjoyment. "You are way too good at that too," he complimented in wonder her as he threw his head back at the feeling of her suckling him, "Oh, Amanda." When the pleasure became too intense and knowing that he was going to lose it way too soon, he yanked roughly on her hands, pulled her to her feet and pinned her against the wall again.

"Don't you want me to finish what I started? Isn't that what a good _apprentice _agent should do? See it through to the end?"

"I did promise you an _in-depth _interview," Lee reminded her in a husky voice as he lifted her up and plunged into her.

"Oh, Lee," she gasped at feeling his hardness inside her again. She pushed her back up against the wall to push her hips downward against him as she locked her legs around his hips and her arms around his neck.

"In-depth enough for you now," Lee queried as he drove up into her again.

"Oh, yes," she replied as she dug her hands into her shoulders while meeting him thrust for thrust. "Oh, it's so, so in-depth."

"Yes, it is," he said in response as he tugged at her hips. He continued pushing himself into her as deep as he could in long, slow strokes as he captured her lips again, probing her mouth with his tongue as he continued to probe her body with his shaft.

Amanda moaned into his mouth, a flurry of sensations taking her over, the hot water cascading over her, his tongue tangling with hers while he relentlessly plunged inside her until she felt herself tumbling over the edge. She tore her mouth from his, clutched at his shoulder and cried out, "Lee! Oh, Lee!"

Hearing her screaming his name and feeling her nails digging into his skin while her body tensed with spasms around him, sent Lee spiraling out of control right along with her. "Amanda," he growled as he felt himself exploding within her, pumping his warm seed inside her until there was nothing left, but their heavy breathing and the mutual shaking of their bodies that were still locked together as they clung tightly to each other and rode out the wave of release. Once his breathing had slowed to a more normal rate, he let her down on still-shaky legs and with an impish grin, joked, "I hope you got all you came for," echoing his earlier words.

Amanda grinned back and echoing her own words, responded, "Thank you. I have a deadline to meet," as she slipped past him and back into the locker room.

"Hey, wait a minute," Lee said in irritation. He turned off the water and followed her to find her toweling her wet hair. "Was that all this was about? Just playing your cover?"

"Well, you wanted me to get that film back to the agency, didn't you?" she reminded him as she slung the towel over her shoulders and began to pull her clothes back on. "I'm just being a good assistant agent...right?"

"Yeah...right...the film," Lee mentally cursed himself for his orders to her, wishing to God she could stay longer. Curfew for the players be damned, he'd like nothing better than to drag her back to his bed and spend the rest of the night making love to her, maybe even tease her a bit to pay her back for so mercilessly teasing him.

"So, I'm just gonna'..." She gesture dramatically to indicate her state of half-dress. It made no sense considering the fact that she'd just been screaming out his name while he'd been screwing her senseless, but she was suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. It was as if he were a hungry wolf and she were a defenseless lamb. That look told her all too well, that if he had his way, he'd spend the rest of the night devouring her. She shivered a bit at that thought. As much as she might enjoy it, she did have to get back to the agency and at some point, back home to her children.

"Right," Lee nodded. Disappointment was flooding through him as he watched her dress. He felt a slight bit of amusement as well though, thoroughly amazed that she'd just made him do the unthinkable. He never in all his life had chased after a woman the way that she'd made him chase her tonight. If a woman didn't show an interest right away, he usually just moved on to the next one. For the umpteenth time, he couldn't help but think Amanda was...different.


	10. Christmas Cheer

Author's Note; I debated when outlining this one where to put their encounter and while the scene in the woods would have been a perfect spot: I decided doing an extended tag with a little "naughty nurse" action would be better as it would also give me a chance to explore Amanda growing restlessness with Dean since we're only about two episodes away from him disappearing for good. I also noticed that in the scene in the cabin where they're singing "Silent Night," it looked very much like Amanda was sitting on Lee's lap. Thanks to those who have read and reviewed and extra special thanks to Chrissie, Vicki, Elaine, Jennie and Monica for all the lively "gutter" chats on Facebook. You ladies are awesome! Chrissie, I hope this one keeps you blushing. :)

**Chapter 10-Christmas Cheer**

"The Long Christmas Eve"

On Christmas night, after the presents were opened, Christmas dinner was long done, the boys were tucked into bed, and after finishing the cleanup, Amanda wandered aimlessly through her house, looking for anything else to do. She picked up a dishcloth and made her way to the kitchen table to wipe it down for the fourth time that night.

"Amanda, what are you doing?" Dotty hissed to her with a not-so-subtle nod to the man who sitting on her couch in the living room waiting for her.

"Oh, what? I'm just trying to make sure everything all shipshape, you know how I like to keep a neat house," Amanda answered nervously. She was not about to let her mother in on the real reason she was looking for something..._anything_ to do to keep herself occupied and prolong the time when Dean would expect a little alone time with her.

"Amanda, the house is neat as a pin...neater, in fact. Pins would be jealous of how neat the house is right now. As much as you've been on a cleaning frenzy since the boys went to bed, _Good Housekeeping_ would give this place it's seal of approval." Dotty then lowered her voice and reminded her, "and you have a man in there who is in dire need of some Christmas cheer." She forcefully took the dishcloth from her daughter's hand and gently nudged her toward the living room where Dean was lounging on the sofa.

"Mother," Amanda protested. Why couldn't her mother see that Dean was just _not_ the man for her? Or that the fire just wasn't there?

"I mean it, Amanda, you've done enough for one day, now go," Dotty insisted firmly. What on earth was going on with that girl, she wondered. It was as if she didn't want to be alone with Dean? Couldn't she see what a great catch he was and how good he could be for her if she'd just give him the chance?

"Okay, okay," Amanda resigned herself with a sigh, knowing deep down that she was unable to put it off any longer as she trudged toward her doom.

When Amanda entered the living room, Dotty made a big show of stretching and yawning, "Oh, what a long day. I think I've had enough excitement. I'm going to bed." With one last smile to Amanda, hoping that she'd find some excitement of her own, she scurried up the stairs, leaving her daughter alone with her boyfriend.

"All done?" Dean asked with a warm smile as he reached for Amanda's hand and pulled her down to sit on the sofa with him.

"Yeah," Amanda answered and managed a weak smile. _How am I going to get out of this one? _She thought back to all of the tight spots she'd been in with Lee, including their most recent just yesterday and none of them seemed tighter than this one.

"Good," Dean nodded, his smile widening as he slipped his arms around her and pulled her close, kissing her softly. "I don't know why you wouldn't let me help. I helped make the mess too, you know."

"Oh, I know," Amanda acknowledged as she placed her hands on his chest in an attempt to keep him at arm's length, "but you were having such a good time with the boys before they went to bed that I didn't want to disturb that." _Liar, _she scolded herself. In truth, she didn't want him disturbing _her_.

"They're great kids," Dean gushed. He leaned in to kiss her again, and then added, "You've done an amazing job with them."

"I...uh...you know, I've just tried to do the best I could...you know...with...uh...not having their father around." She didn't at all like the way that he was looking at her, as if he had something on his mind.

"Well, maybe they should have a father around full-time," Dean suggested.

"Dean-"Amanda began, but was cut off by his finger on her lips as he pulled her into his lap. Amanda shuddered slightly as it had reminded her of yesterday when Lee had had his hand over her mouth to silence her after he'd thrown her to the ground and later in the day when she'd been comfortably parked on his lap while they sang, with his low baritone in her ear sending shivers up her spine.

"Let me get this out, Amanda," her boyfriend interrupted. "I love you. I love Phillip and Jamie and I know that you've been hesitant to talk about getting married again-"

Amanda slithered off the couch, stood to face him and demanded, "Dean, stop! I told you that I'm not ready yet! Why can't you just give me a little more time?" The truth was she didn't need more time. The more time she spent with Lee, the more she knew that Dean would never be able to give her what she needed. She sighed as she thought of Lee and realized that he wouldn't either. _What's wrong with me?_ She thought forlornly. Why couldn't she feel for Dean what he thought she should, what her mother thought she should? She imagined what it would be like if she could have the best qualities of both of them in one man, the dedication to the family and comfort that Dean gave her, combined with the intense feelings and fiery passion that she felt only in Lee's arms.

"Amanda," Dean crooned softly as he rose and enveloped her in his arms, cradling her against him. "What are you so afraid of?" He pulled back slightly to look at her before kissing her soundly, his hands sliding under her sweater to caress her bare skin.

Amanda allowed herself a moment to enjoy the warm pressure of his lips on hers, his hands, softly touching her before pulling back. She pushed gently on his chest and warned him, "Dean, don't." She then turned from him, unable to face him any longer.

Dean sighed in frustration and questioned, "What the hell is going on with you, Amanda? What the hell is going on with us?"

Amanda sighed herself and explained, "Look, I just need time, okay? I'm not ready to make a decision about making another lifetime commitment. Why can't you understand that?"

"It's more than that, Amanda. Do you realize that it's been two months since we've made love?"

"I...Uh...I guess...I...uh...really hadn't thought about it," Amanda lied. She had, though, multiple times since meeting Lee. Every time that Dean had made an advance or hinted that he was in the mood, she'd come up with an excuse to put him off and being the gentleman that he was, he'd backed off every time. He wasn't that type to attempt to take what he wanted. _Unlike Lee_, she thought.

"Well, I have and I don't know what it is, but it's like ever since you started this little business venture of yours, you and I...I don't know...it's like something has changed between us. So, what is it?"

"Don't you get it? You and my mother, you're both putting all this pressure on me about getting married and I...I'm just not ready. I don't know if I ever will be. My divorce put me and the boys through hell and you...You don't know what that was like." She turned from him again.

"So, talk to me about it," Dean insisted as he grabbed her arm to get her to face him.

"I...I can't," Amanda stammered. "And you making advances isn't helping. It's almost as if you're trying to seduce me into saying yes." _Take that, _she inwardly cheered, but couldn't help feeling guilty for the ruse. Why couldn't she just make a clean break with him and be done with it? Was she that afraid of disappointing her mother? What would her mother think if she knew how many times she'd lost herself in blind, untamed passion with a man she'd only known for two months; a man that she couldn't possibly have a real future with, when Dean was right here wanting a future with her?

"Your mother told me that your ex called to wish the boys a Merry Christmas. Is that what this is about? Did his phone call stir up some painful memories for you?"

"I...I guess," Amanda shrugged though truthfully, Joe's call hadn't stirred anything. Nothing had been stirred between her and Joe for years; that ws the main reason they'd gotten divorced. Even if there were, she'd only spoken to him for about five minutes before handing the phone off to the boys; it was her conversation with Lee that had stirred her, her adventure with him in the woods. _Who are you trying to kid, _she scolded herself. It was more than the adventure or the conversation that had stirred her. If she were truly honest with herself, she'd admit that Lee had stirred something in her on the first day she'd met him when he grabbed her in the train station. The way that he'd held her tightly, the way that his piercing eyes had bored into hers and sent a jolt through her that no man ever had, not even the father of her children. They were both silent for a long moment, before Amanda sighed once more and said," My mother was right. It's been a long day. Maybe we should just call it a night as well."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Dean concurred in resignation as he released her arm, made his way into the foyer and pulled on his coat. "I'll call you tomorrow." He lightly pecked her lips and made a hasty exit, slamming the door behind him.

After he'd gone, Amanda sank wearily against the door, Dean's words haunting her, _What the hell is going on with you? _"What the hell _is _going on with me?" she questioned aloud.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her mother's voice, "Well, that was certainly quick," Dotty commented with a smirk as she descended the stairs after having heard the door slam.

"Very funny, Mother," Amanda snorted in irritation as she tried to shake off her nagging thoughts. "You know what, I have a friend in the hospital that I should go pay a visit to," she told her as she reached for her coat.

"Oh, that's horrible," Dotty frowned. "Being in the hospital on Christmas must be very lonely for your friend."

"Yes, Mother, I'm sure it is. That's why I should go visit him," Amanda agreed as she pulled her coat on.

"But isn't it long past visitation hours?"Dotty argued.

"Well, I'm sure I can talk them into making an exception for Christmas," Amanda reasoned. She knew she could always use her Bedside Bluebell connection to get in to see Lee if she had to. "Do you mind looking after the boys for me while I'm gone?"

"Of course not, Darling," Dotty answered."I hope you're able to get into to see your friend."

"Me too," Amanda replied hopefully as she hurried out of the house. She had to see him; her mother's words about a man needing Christmas cheer were haunting her. If there was any man that she wanted to spread a little Christmas cheer to, it was Lee, certainly not dull Dean.

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Amanda couldn't believe she was doing this, but Dean's embrace had made her think about what she was missing and she couldn't wait any longer to stop missing it. She straightened the cap on her head, nodded to herself firmly, glanced up and down the corridor to make sure it was empty, and then crept into Lee's room, locking the door firmly behind her.

Lee was awoken from an already fitful sleep by the covers being pulled from him and groaned as he opened his eyes to see a white-uniformed nurse at the side of his bed. "Oh, come on!" he complained loudly. "Can't you people around here let a guy sleep?" He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rose to his feet, fully intending to give the annoying night nurse a piece of his mind. "You know the words to the song, right, sleep in heavenly peace? How about you let me get some of that?"

"Shhh, you're gonna' get us both in trouble. I'm not supposed to be in here," Amanda whispered.

At hearing the familiar raspy voice, Lee's face softened, "Amanda, what the hell are you doing?" he questioned as he sank into the chair in the corner eyeballing the starched white nurse's uniform she wore as best he could in the dimly lit room.

Amanda approached him slowly before kneeling in front of him and saying, "I felt bad about you being all alone in the hospital on Christmas, so I thought I'd come to bring you a little Christmas cheer." She slowly ran her hands up his thighs under the thin hospital gown he wore and tugged at the boxers underneath. She slid them slowly down his legs, and then tossed them aside.

"Christmas cheer, huh?" Lee he inquired with a bemused look. "And what exactly did you have in mind?" He didn't have to wait long to find out as Amanda's answer was to take him into her mouth causing him to emit a loud groan as she suckled just the tip of him, lightly grazing him with her teeth, her lips and tongue making him crazy. "Oh, Amanda," he exclaimed as his hand reached down and he tangled his fingers in her hair while she teased him mercilessly, first exerting firm pressure, then withdrawing to barely touch him with her mouth, the anticipation slowly building. The effect was both exciting and infuriating as she built him up only to bring him back down again, his arousal beginning to mount all over again. When he became so frustrated by the lack of completion that he couldn't take it anymore, he tugged on the back of her head to pull her up to face him, and growled, "What are you doing to me?" his words carrying a double meaning. She was making him crazy by taunting him, but she also had a way of making him want her in a way that no other woman ever had. That thought made him crazier than her brutal teasing had as he recalled how she'd made him chase her in the locker room and he'd willingly complied, wanting her so fiercely that he had had no other choice.

Amanda gave him an innocent "who, me?" smile and asked sweetly, "What? Don't you like your Christmas present?"

"I'd like this a little better," he attested as he grasped her wrist and pulled her into his lap. He slipped his hands under the skirt of the uniform she wore and was shocked to find that she was not wearing underwear beneath it. "Amanda," he groaned as he pushed himself into her, not caring if she was ready for him or not as she'd created such a need in him that he knew he couldn't rest until that need had been fulfilled.

Amanda gasped as Lee entered her, shuddering slightly at his bold penetration of her. When he looked at her in alarm, and it was clear on his face that he feared he'd hurt her," she whispered softly, "It's okay." She rocked against him, placing one hand on each shoulder, trying to avoid the injured area from his shooting. It was more than okay, it was exquisite, the feeling of him inside her, the way that he wasn't afraid to let her know exactly what he wanted and take it, not needing words to tell her how much he wanted her. She sighed at the full feeling he gave her with the erection she'd given him buried to the hilt within her.

Lee gripped her hips tightly, leaned her back slightly to change the angle of his penetration to give her the kind of pleasure she'd been giving him as they moved together, pushing their hips against one another repeatedly. "Oh, Amanda, oh, I..." His breath was now so ragged at his exertions, he couldn't continue, but knowing he was too damn close to losing it without taking her with him, he pulled her hips against his to still their movements. He slipped one hand between him to caress her center, stroking her firmly, increasing the pressure little by little until her the sound of her cries told him she was as close as he was.

"Lee, please," Amanda pleaded as she neared her peak, tugging at his hospital gown, sighing in contentment when she felt him begin to thrust into her again while he still touched her. "Lee!' she screamed as she felt him spilling into her. She heard him calling her name just as she reached her peak. Her pleasure was overtaking her as she bucked against him, taking all he had to give until they were both spent, shaking and shuddering against each other, both gasping for breath.

When his thundering heart rate finally slowed down, Lee panted, "Wow, you... sure...know how to bring a guy...some Christmas cheer." He shook his head. He was still surprised by her waltzing in here in a nurse's uniform, panty-less.

Amanda laughed and teased good-naturedly, "It's just a good thing they don't have you on a heart monitor."

Lee couldn't help, but laugh and replied, "Yeah, that would have brought them in here in a hurry." He softly stroked her hair, then straightened her now crooked cap and asked, "So, where'd you scare up this uniform anyway?"

"Hospital volunteer, remember?" she reminded him.

"Oh, right," Lee nodded knowingly. "You know where all the good storage closets are."

"Yes, I do," Amanda replied with a giggle. "So, do you like it?" she asked as she rose from his lap and twirled in front of him.

"Well, it's not a sexy nightgown, but it'll do," Lee joked with an impish grin as he rose from his perch to retrieve his discarded boxers.

"You're never gonna' let that go, are you?" She gave him a petulant look with her hands on her hips.

"Not until I see you wear one for me," He answered with a smirk. "Now..._that_ would have been a great Christmas present."

"Oh, so you didn't like this one?" she bantered as she hiked up her skirt just enough to flash a bit of bare thigh at him.

"Oh, I think you know that I did," Lee asserted. He found himself unable to stop the grin on his face.

"Good." Amanda suddenly began flushing under the intensity of his gaze. "I...uh...I should get home to the boys." She walked to the door then stopped for a moment, kissed him softly and chirped, "Merry Christmas, Lee," before hurrying out the door.

"Merry Christmas, Amanda," he responded softly after she'd gone before climbing back into his bed, the pain from his shooting no longer bothering as he thought of how peacefully he'd sleep now. He reflected back on their singing the day before and thought, _Sleep in heavenly peace, indeed. _Feeling thoroughly sated, he knew he'd sleep peacefully now dreaming of the woman who'd just nursed him back to health and happiness.


	11. Lousy One-Nighter

Author's Note: In re-watching this one, I wondered where exactly Lee slept at Amanda's house did after they left the motel. The next time you see Amanda, it is in Billy's office and clearly the next day, so of course, I had to answer that question. This chapter is by far the longest so far. Sorry about the length, but this idea took hold and wouldn't let go, so here it is. I hope you enjoy. As always, reviews are greatly appreciated. Many of you know, I'm a review junkie. LOL

**Chapter 11-Lousy One-Nighter**

**"**Remembrance of Things Past"

Lee had been lurking outside Amanda's house waiting impatiently in the shadows until he saw her family leave through the front door, then silently crept through the French doors at the back of the house. He paused for a moment at hearing Amanda talking to herself.

"The hardest part about this work is the feelings. Lee said not to get involved," Amanda said with a sigh, "He was right," she added in a hoarse whisper as she broke down in sobs.

Lee deeply touched by her sentiment, shifted lightly uncomfortably, wanting to take her in his arms and console her, but instead used is typical humor to deflect his own feelings by saying, "I never thought I'd live to hear you say that. Actually, I didn't live to hear it, not officially, of course."

At hearing the familiar, deep, husky voice behind her, Amanda's head whipped around, elation coursing through her at the sight of Lee standing there with his usual dimpled grin staring at her. "You're alive?" She said softly as she approached her. She rose from her seat, her sorrow turning to relief as she got closer and realized it was really him. "You're alive and standing right here in my family room?" She smiled at seeing him. "Oh, you are, you are,' she cried as she flung herself into his waiting arms laughing and smiling as he gently rocked her and held her. Her laughter was soon cut off as reality hit her.

Lee laughed with Amanda smiling as he held her tightly, happier than he cared to admit to find out that she'd missed him. His smile soon faded as the moment abruptly ended and he felt Amanda's fist thump his back.

"Oh, I'm so angry with you!" she exclaimed as the wrenched herself from his grasp.

"What, for being alive?" he said, his smile gone. What was wrong with her? One minute she was happy to see him and now she was pissed at him. Would she have preferred that he'd died. He was reminded again that she had a boyfriend. Maybe she'd be happier to just deny everything that had happened between them so she could go back to her normal life with him.

"NO, for whatever it is you're pulling, whatever...whatever secret mission you're on that causes this kind of deceit!" Tears of anger now filled her eyes at his deception, thinking of all of the moments they'd shared and how little he seemed to think of her if he hadn't bothered to let her know that he was okay.

"Look, what is a nice funeral," he quipped in an attempt to lighten the mood.

"Ooh!"

"Not too fancy?"He teased with a grin, but his attempt at levity had had the opposite effect.

"Oh, how dare you make jokes?"Amanda cried, her anger flaring as she turned from him, knowing that if she didn't, that sexy smile of his would soon make her forget all about how angry she was with him. She took a deep breath then turned back to him and said in a softer voice, "I have been really upset about this. I thought that I had lost a friend and that hurts." Lee's face fell at the knowledge hat he'd hurt her as she continued, "And I was frightened too and uh...Look, I know you don't like tears. I know they frighten you more than bullets, so I'm sorry about this little scene, but you've brought it all on yourself..." Lee nodded and started to say something, but sensing that Amanda wasn't done, he thought better of it, "because it would have been totally unnecessary if you hadn't been killed, which you haven't been. And I cared that you were dead and I don't care if you don't care that I care," Amanda rambled on, her voice rising with each word as the tears threatened to overwhelm her again. If he said something callous or tried to make another joke, she was liable to smack him.

Lee smiled at realizing that Amanda might have more feeling for him that he'd thought and said simply, "I _do_ care, really. Thank you." He gave her a warm, affectionate smile.

"You're welcome," Amanda said and couldn't help smiling back. "Would you ilke a sandwich?"

"That would be nice," Lee said with a slight chuckle at seeing Amanda's natural nurturing instinct take over.

"Good," Amanda said with a nod as she turned toward the kitchen, wiping the tears from her eyes, Lee following behind her. "Why did you do it?" she asked as she rummaged through the fridge.

"I almost _was_ dead,' Lee said matter-of-factly as he sat on the island while Amanda turned toward him, sandwich fixings in her arms."My pen pan, the guy that wrote me that note at monk's, he attacked me three days ago, almost made good his threat."

"Are you okay?"Amanda asked in concern.

"Except for a little vent in my left shoulder," Lee answered as hopped down from his perch to face her as she'd now made her way to the cutting board on the other side of the island. "Billy and I figured that if the killer thought I was dead, he'd fell free to move on to the next victim. You know, he'd never suspect that I was investigating my own murder. Now, you and Billy are the only two that know the plan. You got any milk?"

"In the refrigerator,' Amanda answered. As Lee turned from her, she asked, "How are you gonna' investigate if you're supposed to be dead? You can't even show your face. Who's gonna' do your legwork?" As Lee turned back toward her, milk in hand, she continued, "I mean, if Billy and I are the only two you know that y-" She halted abruptly at seeing the intent look on his face as realization struck her. "Oh."

"Amanda, I'm not crazy about the idea either," Lee said with a shake of his head, uncapping the milk jug to distract himself from the way Amanda was looking at him, "but the killer is obviously very plugged in to the intelligence community and Billy wanted someone the guy wouldn't know."

"If I volunteer, what would be our game plan, where would we rendezvous, where would our...um...headquarters be?"

"See, now this part is either incredibly convenient...or...incredibly awkward, depending on your answer," he said nervously at the thought of all of the times that he and Amanda had been less than professional on the job and how that could become incredibly uncomfortable with him sharing her home with her.

"To what question?" Amanda asked, disconcerted by the way that he was looking at her.

"Can I stay here?"

"No," she answered immediately her thoughts racing at the idea of having Lee in her home non-stop. That thought conjured up all kinds of images that she wished it hadn't. Where would he sleep? Would he assume that he could sleep with her since they'd already been intimate on several occasions? Not to mention that her neighbors would ba appalled if they saw a man coming and going from her house when they all knew that she was in a supposedly serious relationship with Dean. _Dean_, she thought. What was she going to do about him? The more she tried to distance herself from him, the more he tried to cling to her and the more insistent her mother became that she should accept Dean's marriage proposal and settle down again. Amanda's thought were interrupted by Lee's voice.

"Look, no one I know would ever think to look for me here and everyone you know is out of town," Lee argued. "So, if you could just get past the psychological barrier of having me around, everything would be great." In truth, he was as nervous about it as she was. Where would he sleep? Would she take this to mean that they were a couple? Would they- Lee shook his head as if to shake off that thought and said, "So, where do you want me to put my things, hm?" then walked away.

"Guatemala," Amanda muttered wondering if even that would be far enough away for her to stop having such disruptive thoughts about her partner.

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When they entered Amanda's home through the French doors after investigation the Jean-Claude's room at the no-tell motel, Amanda's thoughts were whirling. She couldn't keep her mind off what had happened there, Lee's crack about a one-nighter, the subsequent attack in the bathroom and the big one, jumping into the bed with him and pretending that a one-nighter was exactly what they were there for. She was equally unnerved by seeing Lee wearing Dean's clothes, her mind flashing back to her thoughts at Christmas of how she'd wished she could have the best of both of them, Dean's stability and Lee's penchant for making her week in the knees. Who was she kidding? Dean could never give her what she wanted, so why did she keep hanging on to him? He was nice and he cared, he wanted to have a real home life with her and the boys, but Lee...Lee gave her what she'd been missing for a long time, what the last couple of years of her marriage had been missing...real passion.

Lee, catching her powerful gaze, said, "What?"

"Nothing," Amanda said blushing furiously at the way Lee was looking at her as if he'd read her thoughts. She began thinking of how she'd made a crack about offending the desk clerk's sense of decency when she'd just been thinking some very indecent thoughts about the man standing in front of her. "I...uh...you know...it...it's getting late. I...should...uh...get you a...a blanket and a pillow," she said as hurried up the stairs to distance herself from the force of his gaze.

Lee sighed and muttered, "I guess that answers that question." He sank down on to the couch, burying his face in his hands. Through this whole thing, he'd felt a flurry of emotions wash over him, elation that she'd missed him when she thought he was dead, amusement at her anger, guilt when her realized how much his deception had hurt her and the worst, an unshakable desire for her that wouldn't leave him alone. That desire was making him crazy even now, had been since he'd first asked her about staying at her house, that trip to the motel only having made it worse. He'd had this ridiculous fantasy in his head that since they'd had so many incredible sexual encounters already, that it would be no big deal for him to share her bed with her. Now, he realized how stupid that seemed. Why the hell would he think that Amanda would just invite him into her bed? It's not as if they were a real couple, they'd mostly just been thrown into situations beyond either of their control, so why should he care. He sighed and tried to shake it off. _If you don't care, then why is it bothering you so much that she's relegating you to the couch?_ He argued with himself.

Lee rose from the couch and stripped of the ugly-ass jacket and that that he knew belonged to the man Amanda really wanted in her home. And why shouldn't she? He was the guy with a stable job that wasn't likely to get him killed, the one who could provide her with the kind of life she deserved to have, the guy who could make her happy and give her all the things that he knew he couldn't. He was the better guy for her, so why did it bug him so much that she was still dating him? Why did it infuriate him so much that she'd dressed him in Dean's clothes? He violently tossed the offending garments into the armchair, just as Amanda descended the stairs behind him, her arms laden with bedding.

"Wow, you really hate plaid, don't you?" Amanda quipped in an attempt to lighten the tension in the room.

Lee whipped around at the sound of her voice and said, "I...uh...I..."

"Here," Amanda said handing him the bedding. "I...Uh...I should get to bed myself. The bathroom's right at the top of the stairs if you want a place to get undressed for bed." The thought of Lee undressing in her house, just down the hall from her sent her mind hurtling back into the gutter. Unable to meet his gaze, she then scurried back up the stairs and into her room before those thoughts could take over. Her behavior at Christmas had been bad enough. She knew those actions has shocked Lee to his core and to be honest, she'd shocked herself a little too. She'd never been that bold with a man that she wasn't in a committed relationship with.

Trying to shake off those thoughts and the raging desire that she felt for the man downstairs in her den, she marched to her dresser. She pulled out her cotton nightgown, her thought's flashing back to a few weeks ago when Lee had made a crack about it, teasing her about sexy nightgowns, just before he'd been screwing her senseless atop the dresser in her room at Bo Johnson's ranch. She quickly undressed and pulled the nightgown over her head, wondering what his reaction would be if she would invite him into her bed. The thought had crossed her mind many times since he'd asked if he could stay with her. It occurred to her then that as many times as they'd had wild, mind-blowing sex, it had never been in a bed. They'd never spent a full night together afterward, never woken up together. She sighed and said firmly, "We're not a couple," as she tried to convince herself that her feelings for Lee were nothing more than a healthy physical attraction. _Then why were you so upset by his death, _she questioned herself as she slid between her cool sheets, her normally comfortable bed feeling unbearably cold to her after her brief moment of sharing a bed with Lee at the motel.

Lee, having stripped down to his boxers and attempting to make himself comfortable on the couch couldn't stop himself from thinking about the woman upstairs who made him undeniably crazy. He tossed fitfully as he tried to shut of his over-active imagination and quash the fantasies in his head that he'd had of carrying her upstairs to her bedroom and spending all night making love to her in a bed for once. _Her bed, _he thought with a smile, but that smile soon faded as that thought was replaced by another more disturbing thought that it was the bed she'd once shared with her ex-husband and probably where her children had been conceived. Lee cringed at that thought, and then wondered if the annoying, flannel-wearing, weatherman had also been invited to share that bed with her. He knew that she'd slept with him and might even still be sleeping with him. Somehow, that thought was more disturbing to him that that of her ex-husband as the ex was off someplace where he was in very little contact with her whereas the weatherman was still an active part of her life.

Those thoughts tormenting him, he knew he wouldn't sleep for a while. He threw back the covers and padded barefoot to the kitchen. "Warm milk," He said aloud as he yanked open the door of the refrigerator. "Isn't that what they always say is the cure for insomnia?"

Amanda, unable to turn off her restless mind, flung back her comforter, pulled on her robe and tiptoed down the stairs so as not to disturb Lee, intending to fix herself a glass of warm milk in the hopes that it would help her sleep. As she entered the kitchen, she was startled to see Lee standing at her refrigerator and attempted to sneak back up the stairs before he saw her.

"Hey," Lee said. "Can't sleep?"

_Too late, _Amanda thought as she did an about-face, left with no choice but to answer him. "Yeah, I...uh...I just can't stop thinking about...you know...what happened tonight." She felt her breath catch in her throat at Lee's near-nudity in front of her, but then her thoughts were diverted by the bandage still covering his left shoulder. She approached him slowly and said, "That must have hurt," her voice edged with concern.

"Yeah, it wasn't pleasant," Lee said as he closed the fridge and set the milk jug on the counter. "Part of the job, though. What about you?" He said with a nod to the bruises on her throat as he stepped closer to her, the gingerly touched one of them with the tips of his fingers.

"I'm...uh...I'm okay," she said as his gentle touch sent shivers up her spine. "It's...uh...you know...a little tender...but I...Um...I'm okay, really," she stammered nervously.

"Good," Lee said, but didn't remove his hand from her throat, "That's good." He eyed the ugly bruises and felt enormously guilty for putting her in harm's way. He locked eyes with her and soon found his hand sliding to the back of her neck as if of its own accord as he dipped his head to place a tender kiss to the same spot.

As soon as Lee's lips touched her neck, Amanda could no longer fight the feelings she'd been holding back all night. She raised her hands to grip his shoulders, pulling him to her, inviting him to do more. He'd nearly died and still could, so why shouldn't she take what he could give her while she had the chance?

Lee groaned against her as felt her lithe body pressing against his, the desire for her that had been building all day breaking loose like a broken levee spilling floodwaters everywhere. He found his hands roaming over her, just as hers were doing the same to him.

"Lee," she hissed as he had begun to suckle her neck and his hands slid under her nightgown to slide up her legs and cup her bottom. She lowered her own hands to his, pulling him tighter to her, amazed to find how hard he already was for her, relishing the feeling of that hardness pressed against her, but desperately craving more. She was thrilled to feel Lee tugging at the bottom of her nightgown urging in upward. She released him long enough to raise her arms above her head so he could remove it from her, leaving her in only her panties.

"God, you're beautiful," Lee said as he lowered his head to take one nipple into his mouth, his tongue laving the tip of it while his hand caressed the other. He slipped his free hand inside her panties and touch her center, delighted to find her already damp for him as he teased her, only serving to increase her arousal.

"Ohhhh," Amanda moaned low n her throat, her breath coming in short, shallow pants as she tugged at his boxers wanting to feel all of him.

"Let's take this upstairs," Lee murmured against her skin, wanting to feel her beneath him for once when he was inside her, wanting to feel her writhing under him while he made her scream her head off.

"No, Lee, here, now," Amanda cried as she pushed his boxers to the floor, "I need you now!" She gripped his shaft firmly, stroking him with one hand while the other clutched his tight bottom.

Lee halted for a moment, a little disturbed by the fact that she didn't seem to want him in her bed. "Amanda..." he growled as he kicked his boxers aside.

"Lee, please," she said her voice taking on a note of desperation. "I need to feel you inside me...Please."

"Is that what you want," he whispered low in her ear.

"Yes," she begged.

"You want it now, you got it." Lee, at hearing her desperate pleading for him, decided he wasn't going to deny himself the pleasure of being inside her again and that at this moment; he was willing to take whatever she was willing to give just to achieve that. He pinned her against the door of the fridge, used one hand to rip her thing panties from her body, lifted her up to straddle him and plunged into her as hard as he could a loud groan escaping him as he did so as the exquisite feeling of being inside her again.

"Yessss," Amanda hissed as she locked her legs around him, her hands around his neck, tugging at his head to pull him in for a searing kiss as he moved within her, each thrust harder than the last.

"Oh," Lee groaned into her mouth as his tongue probed her while he pumped into her hard and fast. If she didn't want him to really make love to her, so be it. He had no intention of being gentle. She wanted it now, then by God, that's what she was going to get. He used all the strength he had to drive up into her, needing her fiercely, but also feeling a selfish need to punish her for not allowing him as close to her as he wanted to be, denying him access to her bed. He ripped his mouth from hers, and clamped it down on her neck over the bruises left by the killer. He gripped her bottom tightly pulling down on her hips to drive himself into her as hard and as deep as he could.

"Lee!'Amanda shrieked at feeling him pounding hard into her, his mouth furiously devouring her neck, relishing the bit of danger that accompanied the roughness of it. "Lee!"she screamed again as her whole body shook, uncontrollable spasms, rocking her as her fierce orgasm took hold of her, causing all conscious thought to disappear. She was lost only in him and how he made her feel.

"God," Lee cried tearing his mouth from her neck, staring into her passion-filled eyes as her felt her body's tremors against him, felt her wrapped tightly around him, hearing her screaming his name, spurring him on. He withdrew from her and slammed into her again. Again and again, he repeated the motion, until he erupted within her, pumping his seed into her, wishing for just a fleeting moment that she wasn't on the pill, wanting to truly fill her the way her ex-husband, a man who she _had _allowed to share her bed had, "Amanda," he dried as his spilled into her until there was nothing left.

"Oh...wow..."Amanda said through her heavy breathing as she tried to force her heart rate to slow down. She saw a look on Lee's face that she couldn't quite identify. Was it hurt? Jealousy? Guilt? She couldn't quite figure it out. "Lee..." she said softly as she ran a hand gently down his face.

"Don't," Lee said as he abruptly withdrew from her completely, causing her to whimper in protest. He set her on her feet and turned from her, leaning on the island, remorse swamping him as he knew he'd hurt her just now out of his violent need to make hr completely his.

"Lee," Amanda said as she stepped up behind him, placing her hands on his back.

"Amanda, I said don't," he said as he pulled away from her, reached for his discarded boxers and yanked them on. "We should get some sleep," he said as he pushed past her and back into the den.

Amanda sighed, glanced for a moment at the milk jug still sitting there. She picked it up and put it away with a chuckle, then donned her nightgown again, picked up the remnants of her underwear, then walked to the den to join Lee, determined to find out what was wrong with him. "You know, this is the second pair of these you've ruined," She said with a laugh as she held them up for him to see hoping that he'd see the humor in the situation too.

Lee couldn't help but laugh and said, "Well, if you'd stop wearing them like I suggested..." His eyes fell on the discarded clothing he'd piled on the armchair. "Speaking of clothes, your..." he hesitated, "...your...uh...boyfriend's stuff is over there."

"Oh," Amanda said thinking she understood what this was about now. "Is...uh...that the real reason you complained about wearing that stuff? Because it's Dean's?"

"What? NO!" He said not wanting to give her the satisfaction of knowing how much if bothered him that she was still seeing that guy. "I told you. I just hate plaid."

"Come on, Lee, I've seen you wear plaid shirts many times. In fact, when I was cleaning your apartment up, I noticed that you own several of them. This is about Dean, isn't it?"

"How can you talk about him just minutes after we..."

"After we what, Lee?" wanting to know how he felt about their tumultuous encounters.

"You know what I mean, I mean, I get it," Lee said rising to his feet angrily. "I've known for a while that you're sleeping with both of us, but I would think that at least, you would have the courtesy not to bring him up three seconds after you were just screaming out my name!"

"You know, you've got a lot of damn nerve talking about me!" Amanda said unwilling to give him the satisfaction of knowing that she hadn't slept with Dean in months. "What about you and all the girls you run around with?"

"I'm single! I don't owe anything to you or anybody else!" Lee fired back. The truth was while he'd been on some casual dates, he hadn't slept with another woman since meeting Amanda, but he wasn't about to give her anymore power over him than she already had by letting her in on that fact. "I can _run around_ with anyone I want!'

"Fine!"Amanda said as she stormed up the stairs.

"Fine!'Lee yelled back cringing as he heard her bedroom door slam. He flung himself back on the couch, kicking himself for letting Amanda King get to him. What he couldn't give to be able to be happy and carefree the way he used to be before meeting her. _Who are you trying to kid, _he scolded himself. _You weren't happy and you know it. _He glanced toward the stairs wanting to go after Amanda and talk to her, but his stubborn pride wouldn't allow him to admit to her that he knew he could only be happy with her, with being the only man in her life.

Amanda crawled into her bed, blinking back the tears that had formed in her eyes at Lee's outburst as she reflected back on his words at the motel. "Lousy one-nighter," She muttered sure by his reaction that he saw their encounters as only that, a series of lousy one-nighters.


	12. It's Over!

**Chapter12-It's Over**

"Lost and Found"

Amanda chuckled as she listened to her mother's tale of a long-ago New Year's Eve and then thinking about her own love life, she said, "Why is it so difficult for men to open up sometimes?"

"Well, women are no better, Amanda," Dotty replied with a shake of her head. "Sometimes it's very painful to admit your true feelings, even to yourself. I'd like to think that I raised you so that you're not that inhibited."

"Uh...yes, well...Uh...yeah," Amanda stammered, a slight blush in her cheeks as she thought of just _how_ uninhibited she'd been with Lee lately.

"Amanda, is there someone in your life that you're afraid to admit your true feelings for?"

"No," Amanda said quickly with a shake of her head as she tried to convince herself that that was true. "No, there isn't."

"Well, just remember one thing, Darling. Life is short," Dotty said as she picked up the remnants of her hula skirt making her way toward the stairs. She then turned and added, "If I were you, I would tell Dean exactly how I feel."

Amanda smiled awkwardly at her mother as she left the room and as soon as she was gone, let out a sigh, a look of alarm crossing her features. "Dean," she said softly knowing that her mother was right and she should tell him exactly how she felt, but also knowing just how difficult a conversation that was going to be.

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"Don't you think this kitchen could pass inspection yet?" Amanda said irritation in her voice as she leaned her chin on the broom handle in her hands.

"Do I detect a lack of enthusiasm for my work program, huh?" Lee said as he furiously mopped the kitchen floor.

Amanda glanced at her watch and said, "My enthusiasm begins to fizzle around ten-thirty."

"Hey, come on," Lee said as he shifted his attention to the refrigerator. "I bet we can find some mean dust bunnies behind this baby. Come on." He grunted as he tried to move the bulky fridge.

"Lee?" Amanda said to get his attention. When he gave up on the fridge and turned to face her she said, "I've gotta' get home. Phillip and Jamie are having company spend the night and I have to be there to pretend like I'm not.

"Then...uh...Let's play cards," Lee suggested as he approached her.

"Cards?" Amanda questioned with a look at him as if he were from mars. "You and I play cards?

"Yeah," he said with a nod.

"Why should we play cards? We've never played cards before."

"Well, we can start," Lee insisted.

"Oh," Amanda said realization dawning at the pleading tone in his voice.

"What?"

"You don't wanna' be here...alone...with them," she said as she pointed to the living room.

"Who?" Lee said obtusely. "Oh...uh...Angelo and Eva? I never really thought about it. Why would that bother me?" he said trying to shrug it off.

"Right," Amanda said skeptically, a little hurt that he seemed to be jealous of Eva. "When something's over, it's over. Shouldn't bother you at all...because it _is_ over," she said pointedly, hoping she was making her meaning clear. "Isn't it?" Amanda hated the edge of jealousy creeping into her voice and tried to cool her emotions down.

Lee feeling entirely uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was going, said, "You know, I'll be those things are ready to come out of the dryer."

"Did you notice how you just ended the conversation," Amanda said, that jealous edge creeping back into her voice.

"What do you think?"

"What do I think about what?"

"Uh...Do they look happy together?" Lee said hoping that she'd say no.

"Do they look happy together," Amanda said her voice no on the edge of becoming shrill.

"Yeah," Lee said expectantly.

Amanda took a deep breath and said, "Oh...I don't know...uh..." She peered into the living room at the couple in question and then said, "They're a very attractive couple."

"They are?" Lee said disappointedly.

"He's very intense and dark and handsome..." Amanda said with enthusiasm.

"Oh, you call that handsome?" Lee scoffed as her looked at Angelo, then back at Amanda, not at all appreciating the way that Amanda was describing Angelo.

"...She's interesting-looking," Amanda continued as if Lee hadn't spoken, unwilling to give the woman who had Lee so hot and bothered a real compliment.

"She's a little more than interesting-looking," Lee argued.

"Okay, so maybe she's a little more than interesting-looking, but there's something about her that bothers me."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I don't know. It's probably something that only another woman would pick up on. Um...I'm...not sure that she loves him?"

"What?" Lee said in surprise.

"Something about the way she looks at him. There's just...no magic."

"MAgic?" Lee questioned.

"Yeah, magic," Amanda replied.

"Oh, yeah," Lee said with bright smile.

"Why are you smiling," Amanda said the irritation in her voice again.

"What smile? There's no smile," Lee said as he frowned at her. He couldn't figure out what was wrong with her and why she was acting as if he were doing something wrong just by smiling.

"It is over, isn't it," she said sadly but by seeing the look on his face, knowing that while it may be over, he wasn't over it yet.

"You know, that stuff has gotta...gotta be ready," Lee said briefly gripping Amanda's arms before hightailing it to the laundry room.

"He did it again," Amanda said with a scowl, the brief contact of his hands on her arms, sending flutters up her spine, only to be replaced by disappointment. Still fuming, jealousy still raging, she released the broom in her hand, letting it clatter to the floor as she followed him muttering, "Not this time, Buster."

As Amanda entered the laundry room, she watched as Lee lodged a half-hearted kick at the still-tumbling dryer, growling, "Damn it."

"What'd the dryer do to you?" Amanda said as she pushed the door closed behind her, clicking the lock in place.

Lee whipped around, startled at her voice behind him. "What are you doing in here?" he said.

"The real question is, what are _you_ doing in here?" Without giving him a chance to reply, she continued, "I'll tell you what you're doing in here, hiding, that's what you're doing."

"Don't be ridiculo-" Lee couldn't even attempt to finish that sentence. He knew it was true. He knew that he couldn't bear to be in the same room with Angelo and Eva while they got reacquainted.

Amanda swallowed hard as tears threatened to consume her, she looked down at the floor, twisting her hands together nervously and said in a small voice, "It's _not_ over, is it?"

Lee ran a hand through his hair, shook his head and said, "I don't know. I don't know, okay?" He sighed as he leaned against the dryer and said, "I thought it was over. Now, I...You know, I haven't thought of Eva in two years, tried to just move on when she told me she was marrying Angelo and now...now, she's here."

"She's married, Lee," Amanda said pointedly.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. I mean, that's the answer, right? She married someone else, so that means that it has to be over, right? She chose someone else, just like..." He trailed off, swallowing hard, looking at her intently before forcing himself to break his eye contact with her turning and leaning against the warm dryer for support. No, he wasn't going to go there. It was bad enough he was trying to figure out whatever residual feelings he still had for Eva, he wasn't going to throw in his burgeoning feelings for Amanda in there too, not when he knew that she'd rather be with the weatherman that him. It was just too painful. He was startled to feel her close behind him, tugging at the gun holder to pull it from his shoulders.

"Just like what?"Amanda probed, knowing the answer, knowing that he was thinking of her relationship with Dean again.

Lee released his grip on the dryer, allowing Amanda to complete her task. When she's laid his holster aside, he then turned to her and said in a low voice, "It doesn't matter," as he reached for the soft cardigan on her shoulders, pushing it to the floor while she silently worked loose the buttons on his shirt and stepped out of her heels. No words were spoken between them as they slowly undressed each other, Lee's shirt and Amanda's blouse soon joining her sweater on the floor. Lee rested his hands on her waist for a moment, just gazing at her, wanting so much to put into words what he felt, but he couldn't. More than anything, he just wanted to get lost in her to end his confusion. He yanked her roughly to him, capturing her lips with his own in a burning, kiss while his hands roamed over the bare skin of her back deftly unhooking her bra, while her hands slid up his chest thumbing his nipples into hardness.

Amanda moaned at the intensity of Lee's searing kisses, her body alight for him, every inch of her feeling like she was a bomb about to explode and he was the fuse. Needing to feel every inch of him to reassure herself that Eva's presence hadn't changes his desire for her, she tugged as this belt, loosening it quickly, followed by the button and zipper on his pants as she worked her hand inside his boxers, needing to touch him.

Lee tore his mouth from hers, groaning a the contact as he felt Amanda's nimble fingers, stroking him, making him crazy with his raw need for her. Grasping her waist, firmly, he quickly reversed their positions, perching her atop the dryer while he worked her out of her slacks, sliding them down her long legs, along with her panties. He kicked off his shoes and dropped his boxers as well, not wanting to waste any more time. He parted her legs and bent between them, planting open-mouthed kisses to the inside of first one thigh, then the other, nipping and suckling at her skin while his hand cupped her bare bottom.

"Lee," she hissed as he teased her, never getting to where she wanted him to be. "Ohhhh," she cried as he bit down on her inner thigh. "That's gonna' leave a mark,"

"Good," he growled, wanting to leave his mark on her so the next time she was giving herself to the weatherman, he'd know that he was the only man who'd been there. He wanted more than that, he wanted her to remember him as well. He slipped his tongue out to barely graze her center, repeating the motion several times, giving her just enough to make her want more, he wanted her to want more, to beg him to give her the release he knew she was after.

"Lee, please," Amanda pleaded tiring of his brutal teasing of her.

"Please, what," He muttered against her as he continued to torment her.

"Please, just do it," Amanda begged her voice now a harsh whisper as her need increased, her breath ragged.

"Do _what_, Amanda," he said as he lifted his head just enough to look at her and see with a satisfied smirk, the desperation in her eyes. It wasn't enough to see it though; he wanted to hear her beg for it. He lowered his head back down, parting her folds with one hand while his tongue snaked out one more time before withdrawing again. "Is that what you want, Amanda?"

"Yes," she hissed.

Repeating the action, he demanded, "Say it, Amanda!"

Amanda gasped and whispered, "I want you...I ..I...want you to taste me," her heart rate was not out of control with anticipation, the sheer need he had created in her making er feel as if she would die if he didn't get on with it. "Please."

Lee smiled smugly, grasped her bottom more firmly, hooked one of her legs over his shoulder and began to devour her in earnest, immensely satisfied by hearing her harsh cries above him. He knew that it wouldn't take long now to drive her over the edge, wanting, no needing to drive her over the edge as she'd been driving him to the edge of insanity since the day he met her. He kneaded her bottom as he probed her with his tongue, lapping at her wetness, before taking her fully into his mouth suckling her until her hear her shrill keening above him, felt her bucking against him, her long, slender fingers sliding through his hair as his assault on her continued. _So much for her enthusiasm fizzling after ten-thirty_, Lee thought. No, her enthusiasm was sizzling, not fizzling.

"LEE!" she shouted unable to stop herself, throwing her head back as her climax slammed into her, leaving her sweating and panting as her whole body shook with tremors from the force of it. Before she could come down from her high, she felt Lee wrenching his head from her grasp; before she knew what was happening his lips were locked on hers and he was inside her. "Ohhhh," she cried at the feeling of him swelling within her, pushing against her, her legs draped over his bottom. As he probed her mouth with his tongue, she tasted herself on his lips, driving her wild with the satisfaction in knowing that if that woman out there tried to make a move, she'd know without a doubt that Lee belonged to her. Her own scent would be all over him, staking out her turf. Wanting to mark him with more than just her scent, she pulled her mouth from his and lowered it to his neck, biting down as hard as she could as Lee continued to plunge into her. She couldn't help the low moans that escaped her as she did so, the warmth of the dryer beneath her a sad imitation of the warmth that Lee created in her.

"Oh, God, Amanda," Lee groaned as he drove into her harder and faster, the gentle rocking of the dryer, spurring him on, helping him to create the perfect rhythm. "Ohhhh," he cried as she continued to assault his neck, making him push harder for his release, needing to fill her completely. With one final hard thrust, he emptied himself into her, gasping out her name as he filled her with his hot seed.

Amanda clutched him to her, her hands locking around his head, her legs around his hips, not ready for him to leave her yet, the rocking of the dryer giving the just the right momentum to keep Lee rocking against her, within her as they rode out the wave together. They were clinging to each other, lips and teeth nipping, hands roaming, locked together, and whispering words of pleasure to one another until a loud bussing shattered the peaceful moment. Amanda took a deep shuddering breath and said in a shaky voice, "The dryer's done."

"Uh...yeah...i guess it is," Lee said pulling himself from Amanda's grasp, turning from her as he gathered up his clothing and hurriedly pulled them back on. He couldn't help thinking that wasn't all that was done, as he tried desperately to recall if his feelings for Eva had ever been as intense as what he felt for Amanda.

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Amanda entered the4 kitchen, fully prepared to be nice to Eva, in spite of the fact that it seemed that Lee had slept with her just hours after brutally teasing her in the laundry room. Instead, her bitter jealousy getting the better of her, she approached her and said, "I was really sorry to hear about Angelo," feeling a dire need to remind the woman that she was married and not to Lee.

"Thank you, Mandy," Eva replied. Though the words were spoken kindly, there was no real emotion on her face when she said it. "I have to believe that we will get him back.

"Yeah...Uh...Look, why don't you let me...uh...take over for you and you can...um...get a little more dressed," Amanda said pointedly as she eyed the woman who was still dressed in a cotton nightgown, very similar to her own that Lee had made a crack about, Lee sweater covering it.

"I would like to help, Mandy," Eva argued and added coolly, "And I'm sure Lee will not mind if I borrow his sweater a little longer," as a reminder to Amanda who'd had him first.

"No, no, really, I just insist," Amanda said, her voice overlapping with Eva's wanting to get her out of her nightgown, wondering what it was about Eva that was making Lee so nuts. How is it that the same type of nightgown that he'd complained about her owning, didn't seem to bother him on Eva?

As Eva walked to the doorway, her eyes fell upon the cake plate on the countertop, "Mandy," she said her voice filled with wonder, "Did you make this?"

Amanda turned and said, "Oh, it's just a little poppyseed cake I made for breakfast."

"Well, i hope you can get Lee to try some. I was never able to get him to have more than coffee for breakfast," Eva said with a malicious gleam in her eye, cone again reminding Amanda of her prior intimacy with Lee.

"Oh," Amanda said looking down at the dishtowel in her hand, feeling defeated.

"By the way, do they call you Mandy?"

"No," Amanda said looking back up just as Lee entered the room.

"Well, how's everyone doing in here?" Lee said attempting to be cheerful, then chuckling nervously at the tension he sensed in the room and saw Amanda do an abrupt about-face turning her back to him. _Uh-oh, she's pissed_, he thought. He eyed the cake Amanda had made and as an attempt to get back into her good graces, said, "Oh, look at this. Mmm."

Amanda turned back to him with a smile and said, "Oh, would you...uh...like some?" hoping he'd say yes, just so she could gain an advantage over Eva.

"Oh...uh...I hardly do anything for breakfast, but coffee" Lee stammered awkwardly, his attempt at flattering her now falling flat. Unseen by Lee, Eva flashed another malicious grin at Amanda before leaving the room. At seeing Amanda's face fall, her turning her back on him again, he tried to redeem himself. "But...uh...Oh...well, if...uh...I did eat breakfast...uh..." he said as he grabbed a handful of the cake and shoved it into his mouth, "...I would eat this. Mm, it's good." He swallowed his bite of cake, chuckling awkwardly as he approached her.

"Thank you," Amanda said half-heartedly as she turned and folded her arms tightly across her chest.

"So...uh...is there any news about Angelo?" Amanda asked in an attempt to change the subject as she reached for a dishtowel to dry her hands.

"No, I was hoping you would have some ideas," Lee said. "You two seemed to hit it off pretty well."

"Sure, but...uh...not as well as you and...Eva," Amanda said bitterly.

"Amanda?"

"Hmmm?"

"How do you know when an affair is really over, anyhow?" Lee reflected back on the kisses he'd shared with Eva last night. For two years, he'd wondered how things might have been different if he'd told Eva how he felt about her in Italy, but when face with her telling him she loved him last night so soon after his fiery exchange with Amanda, he found that her kisses, as fervent as they were, had just left him cold. She'd attempted to press for more, but he had reminded her that she was married and while he had had a history of playing the field, sleeping with a married woman had never been a part of his repertoire.

"I don't know," Amanda said softly wondering if he was finally on the verge of letting Eva go. She hoped so. As she thought about his question, she reflected back on her conversation with her mother about telling Dean how she really felt about him and said, "I guess you just...know." Amanda knew that her affair with Dean was really over and had been for a long time. She just needed to figure out how to let him know it too.

"Yeah," Lee said breaking her gaze. He'd seen a brief flash of something in her eyes that he couldn't quite identify, wondering for just a moment if she was referring to him and Eva or to herself and her weatherman. "I was always kind of bad at these things, anyway," he said with a sigh.

"Oh, everybody's always king of bad at these things," Amanda said knowing that included herself. If she were any good at it, she'd have cut Dean loose already and would have told Lee how she really feels about him.

"No, I really am bad," Lee replied.

"No, you're not so bad," Amanda said as she recalled all the times that he'd let her know without words how much her felt for her.

"I'm telling you, I'm bad," Lee countered. If he weren't, he'd be able to tell Amanda what he really thought of her.

"No, you're not," Amanda fired back.

"I am"

"You're not."

"Amanda, I am bad."

"Alright, you're bad, you're bad," Amanda finally conceded.

"Well, alright," Lee said. "Drop the subject."

"I dropped it. It's dropped," Amanda said with her hands up in surrender. She couldn't help but wonder if that was their whole problem, that they were both bad at relationships. Even though she'd been married, it wasn't as if she was any great success either. After all, her marriage had ended. She sighed as she heard Lee talking about getting back to work.

After Eva's duplicity had been discovered and Lee had thanked her for the talk, she found herself positively giddy at seeing Lee finally let Eva go with a loud, gleeful shout of "It's over!" She couldn't help the warm feeling that flooded through her as she felt that if Lee could let go of a romance that he'd held onto for two years, she could let go of one that had only existed for less than a year. She laughed as she watched Lee prancing around in elation and decided in that moment that it was time to say good-bye to Dean once and for and all.


	13. Emotionally Complicated

**Chapter 13-Emotionally Complicated**

"I Am Not Now, Nor Have I Ever Been, A Spy"

"I can't have a chilidog; I'm having lunch with Dean's mother," Amanda argued though she really wasn't looking forward to it. She knew that it was her mother's way of getting Dean's mother on her side in an attempt to push the marriage issue again. She wanted to badly to just tell her mother that it was never gonna' happen and that in fact, she was on the verge to breaking up with Dean, if she could only figure out how.

"You're still seeing that guy?" Lee said, the irritation evident in his voice.

"I guess so," Amanda said though she knew it wouldn't be much longer.

"Why?"Lee demanded.

"Well, I don't-Why are you asking?" Amanda said thinking that it really wasn't any of his business. It wasn't as if he had made any great overtures into turning their partnership into something more, in spite of the fact that they couldn't seem to keep their hands off of each other.

"I...uh...I don't see you two together," Lee said. _There, I finally said it, _Lee thought. Now, if he could only summon up the courage to tell her he could only see _them _together.

"What are you talking about? You've never even seen him," Amanda said beginning to get irritated with Lee once again acting as if he owned her when he himself kept his distance except when they were locked in each other's arm in the throes of passion.

"Amanda, I have instincts, okay," He said staring at her intently. When the contact became too much to bear, he gestured to the nearby phone booth and said, "I'll go make my phone call and then you can go home."

"That's it?"

"Yeah, all you had to do was pick up the note from the elevator guy."

"We're not gonna' do anything else?" Amanda said sinking to a stool in disappointment.

"Don't look so disappointed.," Lee said with a chuckle, but also feeling a smug sense of satisfaction that she didn't seem to be too excited by this lunch date.

"I'm not disappointed," Amanda said her voice rising an octave, knowing it didn't sound convincing. She'd found recently that the more time she spent with him, the more time she wanted to spend with him.

"Well, you wanna' get home in plenty of time for lunch, don't you?" He teased.

"Go make your phone call," Amanda snapped in annoyance. D_amn, how can he always see right through me? _

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Lee sank to his couch next to Amanda in frustration and said, "Amanda, are you absolutely sure that you don't remember anything about me?" staring at her intently the way that he had at the hot dog stand.

"Yes, the doctor said that I might forget certain things that were emotionally complicated. Now, I can understand how I might forget the crash, but I don't know what could be so emotionally complicated about you that's make me not be ab-" she looked at him and finding herself caught up in his gaze, couldn't continue. She had a brief flash of that same look in his eyes in this very room, but then it was gone..

"Well, we have worked fairly closely together, you know" Lee pointed out.

"How closely?" she asked nervously.

"Well, we've worked hours together, days together..."

"And?"She probed.

"And what?"

Amanda becoming increasingly nervous by the way he was looking at her and the flipp-flops her stomach was doing at sitting so close to him, she stammered, "Well, did we have...Are we...Have we...uh...Are...Are we...uh...involved in any way?"

"You mean, did we ever..."

"Yes, that's what I mean," Amanda said.

Lee sat in since for a moment feeling sucker-punched at the fact that she didn't remember any of it and seemed downright terrified that they had. "No," he lied ot ease her mind. "We never..."

"We never did. we never did."

Mm-mm," Lee muttered feeling horrible for lying to her, but even more horrible in thinking about all the time they'd been together and she didn't remember any of them.

"We didn't," Amanda said breathing a sigh of relief. The relief was short-lived though as she they continued to gaze at each other for another long moment, unable to shake the nagging feeling that they had or that she had at least thought about giving herself to this painfully handsome man. She wracked her brain, trying to remember anything that might give her a clue why this enigmatic man's simple look at her could make her feel as if he were undressing her with his eyes, as if he knew what every inch of her body looked like. Another flash hit her for a moment, "Oh, I'm beginning to remember another one of those words."

"Think, Amanda," Lee probed.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking,"

"Come on, think," Lee said hoping that her mind would recover more than just the ciphers and would conjure up some memories of him and the intimacy they'd shared. "Come on, come on, you can do it, you can do it," Lee continued to chant his voice taking on pleading tone, desperate for her to remember him.

"AARHGH," Amanda cried in frustration, as the fleeting memory was lost. "I don't know. I'm so confused. I'm beginning to think that I dreamed the whole thing. Maybe I made the whole thing up about the hot dogs...and the chilidogs...and the napkins...and the notes...and I'm confused. I just wanna' go home. I wanna' see my boys. I want my mother," she said in a distressed voice as she leaned against Lee and found herself a little surprised at how comfortable she felt in his warm embrace as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I know," Lee said soothingly.

"She's making me a pot roast," Amanda said in a pouty voice imagining her mother in the kitchen, prepping for dinner when another flash hit her. _The refrigerator. _this brought on a memory of something else as she glanced for a moment at Lee's front door.

"I know, I know," Lee said patting her shoulder to comfort her as he held her. He couldn't help a slight smile at the way that she was clutching the front of his shirt, clinging to him for comfort. He was about to suggest that she lie down to calm herself until he saw her lift her head to look into his eyes.

"You lied to me," she said softly.

"What?"Lee said.

"You said we weren't involved," Amanda said pulling back from him slightly.

"We...Uh...we...you...I..." Lee sighed. "We're not involved," Lee said sadly.

"NO?" Amanda questioned.

"No," Lee said shifting uncomfortably at her unbearable closeness as she as still clutching the front of his shirt, his arms still around her.

"No, huh? Then why do I have this distinct memory of the two of us...here...right over there..." she nodded to the door, "...being very...um...involved."

"Okay, yes, Amanda, I lied...sort of..." Lee sighed.

"What do you mean, sort of?"

Lee sighed again, pulling back from her a bit, but still leaving one arm draped across her shoulders and explained, "Yes, we've...Um...' he paused as he searched for the right words. _made love, _his heart screamed, but felt that would be too much for her to hear and he wasn't sure himself that he was ready to say those words out loud even though he'd come to think of their romps that way. "We have had...well, we've..."

"We've slept together," Amanda said softly as his nervousness confirmed the suspicions brought on by her befuddled memory.

"That's a pretty loose term," Lee said with a grin in an attempt to lighten the mood. "There hasn't been any actual sleeping involved. We...uh...we've never spent a night together...never been on a date...never..."

"So...what...are we just...having an affair? Is that why no one's supposed to know that I know you? I mean, my mother told me that I have a fiancé'"

Lee snorted and said, "That's a pretty loose term too."

"What do you mean?"

"That guy...he's not your fiancé. You've been turning down his marriage proposal for months. In fact, I don't even know why you're still seeing him. It's not as if he's giving you what you need or you wouldn't keep coming to me to get what you're missing," Lee said in irritation.

"Is that what I've been doing?" she said as she inched her way closer to him, her stomach filling with butterflies again. When Lee only swallowed hard and gazed at her, she said, "What exactly is it that you think I've been missing? What you give me that he doesn't," she said, her lips now scant inches from his, trying to fight the overwhelming desire to kiss him, her heart racing.

Lee unable to fight it any longer, grasped the back of her head and said, "This," just before his lips descended on hers, his tongued slipping out to coax her mouth open.

Amanda let out a low moan as she opened her mouth to his, thrilled by the gentle pressure of his mouth on hers, the way he was teasing her with his tongue, the way his fingers tangled in her hair as they kissed long and slow, awakening feelings in her that she thought she'd forgotten. Seemingly of their own accord, she found her hands drifting to his shoulders, pushing at the gun holster, the action seeming all-too familiar to her. "Ugh," she said with a sigh when it didn't give as much as she wanted it to with the way he was holder her so tightly.

"Let me," Lee said as he expertly removed his gun holster, setting it aside on the coffee table before taking her in his arms again, kissing her tenderly, as he pushed her coat off her shoulders, then slid his hands beneath her soft sweater, caressing her skin beneath it while Amanda worked on the buttons of his shirt, yanking the tails of it from his pants when she'd finished with the buttons, disappointment flooding through her as her hands only made contact with the fabric of his turtleneck.

Amanda sighed in frustration, breaking their kiss and said, "What is it with you and the layers?" the question seeming eerily familiar just as his touch on her skin did.

Lee chuckled and said, "You've said that to me before?"

"I have?"She questioned.

"Mm-hmm, he said as he pulled back from her long enough to yank the turtleneck over his head. "There. is that better?"

"Much," Amanda said as she lowered her lips to his chest.

"Mmm," Lee sighed, enjoying the feeling of her warm lips on his skin until alarm bells started to ring loudly in his head telling him how wrong this was. He reached for her shoulders and gently pushed her away, saying, "We should stop. This is a bad idea. You...uh...you don't really know me...not with what's happened to you."

"No, I...I...Um...I think I do...and I...I trust you," Amanda said as she slipped her arms around his neck as she slid into his lap, and placed a tentative kiss to his lips.

Lee sank into her embrace, giving up all pretense that he wasn't dying to make lover to her, grasping the back of her head firmly to deepen their kiss while he tugged at the bottom of her sweater, running his hand up under it, surprised to discover that she wore no bra under it. He broke their kiss long enough to pull it over her head, then lowered her to the couch, pinning her beneath him as he kissed her, then shifted to capture one pert nipple in his mouth while he slipped once hand between them to loosen the button on her jeans.

"Oh, Lee," she sighed at the intensity of the feelings he was creating in her wondering how she could ever have forgotten something that felt this good.

Hearing his name on her lips, just made Lee want more, want to really make love to her, as he'd never gotten to do. She was fine with the wild sex, but every time, he tried to slow things down, she pushed for completion, for instant gratification. "Hold that thought," he said as he pulled back from her again, determined that once, just once, he was going to make love to her the way that he wanted to. He rose to his feet, kicked off his shoes, discarding the rest of his clothing before turning back to her, to relieve her of the rest of hers as well, her shoes soon joining his on the floor. He then lifted up on her bottom to peel her jeans down her legs, taking her panties with them, tossing them aside as well, before settling himself back on the sofa with her. He captured her lips with his own again, gently probing her mouth with his tongue, setting them both on fire, while his hands travelled up her legs, before he lowered his lips to other places, first her earlobe, then her neck, then he worked his way down her slender body, kissing every patch of exposed sking that he could.

"Lee,' she hissed as her desire for him only increased with each part of her body he touched, kissed and teased. "Oh!' she cried as his lips met the juncture between her legs and began to gently stroke her with his tongue, licking and teasing her, her hands involuntarily flying to his head, gripping him as if to hold him there, sliding her hands through his silky hair.

"Amanda," he murmured against her as dipped his tongue into her, gently probing her, getting excited by the fact that even without all her memories, she was still impossibly wet for him. Hearing he crying his name and thrashing wildly beneath him as he brought her to orgasm, only excited him more and he couldn't hold back any longer, sliding up the length of her body, he sheathed himself in her welcoming warmth. He planted his feet against the arm of the couch, giving him just the right leverage to push into her more deeply, wanting to be as close to her as he could since he knew he'd come very close to losing her.

"Lee," Amanda said softly, the tremors from her climax not yet having subsided before he'd entered her. Now, the sensations were just building all over again as he withdrew from her only to penetrate her again, the feelings seemingly new, yet very familiar at the same time. She smiled up at him while his eyes bored into hers, the same way his erection bored into her body. She propped one leg up on the back of the couch opening herself further to him, gripping his shoulders tightly. She heard herself letting out wild moans that she never knew she was capable of as he moved into her over and over again, deepening their connection with his stroke, until she felt herself tumbling over the edge again, just as she felt him exploding within her.

"Oh, Amanda," Lee croaked out, a hoarse whisper all he could manage as his emotions threatened to get the better of him when he reached his peak. Seeing her gazing so affectionately at him was more than he could take. He lowered her head to suckle her neck as he continued to pump his seed into her until he was spent and collapsed atop her, his heat rate out of control. "I'm sorry," he said when he was able to speak again still not looking at her.

Amanda pushed on his chest and said, "What are you sorry for?"

Lee pulled himself out of her and off the couch, turning from her unable to look her in the eye, reaching for his underwear and yanking them on, fumbling for the rest of his clothing and saying, "I...I should have stopped this. I don't know what the hell I was thinking. you don't even know me and I...I took advantage of your weakens."

Amanda scrambled off the couch and began pulling on her own clothing, suddenly very nervous about being naked with him. "You know, I had a say-so in this too. I could have said no anytime."

"But I should have stopped it. You said you were confused and I just made your confusion worse," Lee said.

"Lee, I'm not confused...I mean...i _am_ confused...about a lot of things...but not about this...I...never mind," she said as she finished dressing.

"Look, why don't you lie down and rest? You can use my bedroom..."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Well, here you are," Lee said as he pulled up in front of her house.

"Thanks for the lift, Amanda said as she glanced at the house before getting out of the car, wanting to make sure that her mother wasn't peering out the window as she didn't want her to see her exiting Lee's car. "Damn!' she swore at the car she spotted in the driveway.

"What?"Lee said.

"Dean's here. It's bad enough that I don't know what to tell my mother about where I've been. What the hell am I going to say to him?"

"Tell him the truth," Lee suggested. "Tell him about us?"

"Us?" Amanda said incredulously. "Since when is there an us? You said yourself today that we're not involved, that we've never spent a night together, never been on a date...No, I'll just think of something else to tell him." Without giving Lee a chance to respond, she flew from his car, slamming the door forcefully behind her and hurried up the front walk and into her house.

"Oh, Honey," Dean cried as he rushed to her and pulled her into his arms. "Oh, my God, am I glad to see you. Are you okay?"

Amanda extracted herself from his grasp and said, "Dean, what are you doing here?"

Dean, looking affronted said, "What? That's all you have to say? Your mother called me at work in a panic, worried to death that something had happened to you. I left work and rushed right over here so we could try to put our heads together and figure out where you might be and that's your reaction. You act like you're not happy to see me."

"Look, Dean, I appreciate you coming over here and worrying about me and all, but...uh...there's something that I need to talk to you about. Let's go sit down," Amanda said with a gesture to the den. She had just stepped across the landing when she was accosted by her mother.

"Amanda, Darling," Dotty exclaimed as she enveloped her daughter in a tight hug. "I am so happy you're home. you have no idea how worried I've been."

"No, I do. I get that you were worried, but I remember everything now. I will explain everything later, but I need a moment with Dean, if you don't mind," Amanda said as she pulled herself from her mother's grasp.

"Of course, Darling, I understand," Dotty said with a smile toward Dean. "I'm just so happy to have you home. I'll...uh...just be upstairs if you need me...or...if you...um...have some news that you'd like to share." She smiled again, hoping that maybe this bout with amnesia had made her daughter come to her senses about accepting Dean's proposal. She quickly trotted up the stairs to leave them alone.

"Come on," Amanda said. "Let's sit."

As they sat together on the couch, Dean took her hands in his and said, "What is it, Amanda. What's wrong?"

Amanda took a deep breath and said, "We are. You and me. I...um...I've tried to get closer to you in the hopes that we might one day have something together, but I...I... " She bit down on her lower lip nervously and said, "Dean, I care for you. I really do and I don't want to hurt you, but I think we should stop seeing each other now because I'll only hurt you more in the long run if we don't."

"It's because I've been pushing too hard about getting married, isn't it? Look, I'll back off. If you need more time, I'm fine with that."

"Time isn't the issue, Dean. I thought it was at first, but it's been plenty of time and I just don't feel for you what a woman who's thinking about marriage should feel." She swallowed hard and said, "I...I...just don't love you. I...I can't. time isn't going to change that. I'm sorry."

"Amanda, you don't mean that," Dean said raising his voice as he rose to his feet. "You're making a snap decision because you've just been through a trauma. Give yourself a little time to heal and everything with be alright."

"No, it won't be alright, Dean," Amanda said also raising her voice. "In fact, is hasn't been alright for a long time. You said so yourself at Christmas!"

"Forget what I said at Christmas, okay! I want to know where this is coming from!"

At hearing the raised voices, Dotty became concerned and tiptoed down the stairs to find out what was going on.

"Dean, i already told you where this is coming from," Amanda said loudly. "I don't love you. I _can't_ love you! We need to just end this now and give us both a chance to be happy!"

"No, Amanda, I don't accept that! You're just scared, but we'll get through this together," Dean said placing his hands on her arms in an attempt to calm her but his movement had just the opposite effect.

"Don't!" Amanda shouted wrenching her arms fro his grasp. I'm not scared! It's just over! It's been over for months! You asked me at Christmas why we hadn't made love in a while? Do you wanna' know the real answer to that questions? It's because I've been sleeping with someone else for almost four months now!"

"No, Amanda, come on. That's not you!'

"How do you know what is or isn't me? You've never really taken the time to bet to know me, what I like, what I don't like."

"So, what are you saying? That our sex life hasn't been satisfying enough for you?"

"It's not about that, Dean. Or maybe it is, I don't know. All I know is that since I met this other man, I can't stop thinking about anything but him. I...he...he makes me feel sexy and desirable in a way that you never have! In a way that even Joe didn't and he's the father of my children!"

"So, you're saying there really is another guy? So, you've just been stringing me along al this time while you're sleeping around with someone else?"

"It...it wasn't intentional. The first time, it...it just happened. We...we got into a bit of a tight spot together and one thing just sort of led to another, but since then...it's...it's been happening more and more often and I...I can't control myself when I'm around him. Look, I'm not saying these things to hurt you. I never even wanted to tell you about him, but you wouldn't let this go and just let me say good-bye to you and I have to make you understand that I can't see you anymore!"

"Fine!"Dean said angrily. "But let me give you a word of warning, Amanda. These fiery, passionate affairs never last!" Dean then walked out of the house and out of her life, slamming the door behind him.

Amanda sighed with a shake of her head, silently cursing herself for letting it drag on this long and not ending it as she should have after her first encounter with Lee. This bout with amnesia and how comfortable she'd felt in Lee's arms even when she didn't fully remember him had taught her that there was no way that she could ever be happy with anyone else.

"He's right, you know," Dotty said as she descended the stairs. "The fiery affairs never last. Who is this man you're involved with?"

Amanda started at the sound of her mother's voice and stammered, "Oh, Mother...I...I just...there is no man...I...um...just had to tell Dean something to make him go away. He wasn't taking no for an answer."

"Uh-huh," Dotty said looking at her daughter skeptically thinking that a passionate affair would certainly explain all of her strange behavior over the past few months.

"Mother, really. I'm not involved with anyone."

"Then where were you?"

"I...I...um...I just took a walk to clear my head...you know...the amnesia. The doctor said familiar things might help jog my memory and...uh...he was right. I walked around the neighborhood for a long time and the more I did, the more things came back to me and the more that i realized that I could never have the right kind of feelings for Dean and I felt it was unfair to him to keep letting him believe that I could."

"Uh-huh," Dotty said still disbelievingly. "Well, I guess it's your relationship."

"Not anymore," Amanda said, relived to have it done. "Listen, I...I...Um...think I'm just going to lie down for a bit before dinner. This day has really wiped me out."

As Dotty watched her daughter disappear up the stairs, she wondered who the man was in her life and just why she was so reluctant to admit that there was one.


	14. This Isn't A Date

**Chapter 14-This Isn't a Date**

"Dead Ringer"

"Now, I will find you a cab," Lee said.

Amanda looked at Lee, horrified, "Are we going home?"she said in disappointment.

"Well, this isn't a date," Lee said then cleared his throat as he realized that had come out a lot harsher than he'd intended. He looked around nervously.

Both chuckled nervously and Amanda said, "I k now this isn't a date. Of course, this isn't a date."

"Alright," Lee said but couldn't help wondering what it would be like to actually date Amanda, especially now that she'd finally dumped the annoying weatherman.

"I was just wondering what I was going to tell my mother when I get back to the house half an hour after I left for a party. That's all," Amanda said as she turned and walked away from him.

Lee didn't let her get very far. He clasped her arm and said, "Just what the hell is the matter with you?" He looked around again, once more realizing that he was being louder than he intended to be. His hand still firmly on Amanda's arm, he ushered her into the coatroom where they could talk in private.

Once Lee had closed the door behind them, Amanda wrenched her arm from his grasp and said, "What do you mean what the hell is the matter with me. I would think it would be obvious!"

"Obvious? What's supposed to be obvious? We are here on a job, nothing more! I'm sorry if you thought there was more to it."

"Oh, so if we're just here on a job, then I suppose you're going home too," Amanda fired back.

"What? Why should I?"

"Well, if we were only her for a job, then your job is done too. Your job was to m make sure that I did my job, so there's no reason for you to stay here either..." she said pointedly. "...Unless, you're just trying to get rid of me so you can go running after...what was her name...Phyllis?"

"Phyllis? What does she have to do with this?"

"Oh, I don't know, she seemed _awfully_ eager to let you know that she was back from Gstaad and to remind you that you normally send her flowers," Amanda hissed at him like a scalded cat.

Lee chuckled in amusement, smirked at her as he took a step closer to her and said, "Jealous?"

Amanda, infuriated by the smug look on his face, ruffled by his nearness, stammered, "J-j-jealous? Me? Mm-mm." She shook her head as she backed away from him and soon realized what a bad idea that was as she had backed herself into a corner as he continued to approach her. "I...Um...I just..." she stumbled for what to say. "I just think it's...um...very unprofessional of you to...ditch your partner for a casual fling."

Lee chuckled, stepped close enough to her to whisper in her ear, "Amanda King, you _are_ jealous." He lightly pushed her think curls away from her face and said, "You have no reason to be. I'm not having a casual fling with Phyllis." He stepped back from her to look her in the eye, sliding his hands to her waist and said, "You'll notice it took me a second to even remember her name and that I let her know I was with you for the evening."

Amanda pushed on his chest to push him away, his touch unbearably unnerving to her when she was angry with him. "You did no such thing; you told her I had Dengue fever which I do not find funny!"

"I only said that to get rid of her," Lee protested. "She showed up at really ba-"his words were cut off by Amanda continuing her rant.

"As for the evening, you made it clear that it's already over, so that argument falls flat too. And just so we're clear, _I'm_ not the jealous one here," she said as she jabbed a finger into his chest.

Lee's smile faded. He grabbed her hand and said, "ME? I'm not jealous. What on earth do I have to be jealous about?

"You're not jealous?"She said disbelievingly.

"No," Lee said firmly.

"No?"

"Mm-mm," Lee said with a shake of his head, eyes flaring as he stared at her.

"Then explain to me why it was that every time I tried to mingle, which, in case you've forgotten, was what you told me to do, you were right there, acting as if I were somehow cheating on you by talking to people?"

"People? Men, you mean.'

"Jealous?" she fired at him echoing his earlier smart-alecky tone.

"No. Just because every guy in the place was hitting on you tonight and you were just lapping it up like a starving alley cat, why would that make me jealous? I know some of these guys and I...I was merely trying to protect you. that's what a partner does. You don't know the reputation that some of these guys have."

"Oh? Is that right? Trying to protect me, Huh? From the guys with bad reputations, hmm? Anything like the one that you have?"She said challengingly. It struck her that he may very well have been trying to protect her from them, but who was going to protect her from him, from the magnetic pull of his beautiful eyes, eyes that even now bored into hers.

"That's right," Lee said in a softer tone stepping closer to her again, closing the gap between them. "You know that you can be a little naive when it comes to trusting people and I didn't want to see you getting hurt."

"Naive, am I?" She questioned. "Huh. I don't recall you ever thinking that I was naive all the times that we..."

"All the times that we what?" Lee said wanting to know how she thought of their repeated liaisons. When Amanda looked away from him and didn't answer, he leaned into her pressing her back against the wall, his hands sliding to her waist again. "You mean this," he said as placed kiss to her exposed collarbone, "Or maybe you mean this," he cupped her bottom and pushed against her wanting her to know how their verbal foreplay had excited him.

"Oh," Amanda let out the tiniest of gasps as feeling his arousal pressed against her.

"Maybe you mean this," he said as ran one hand up her leg, slipping it under the hem of her dress, caressing her thigh until he reached her hip. Not giving her a chance to respond, he crushed his mouth against hers, probing at her lips with his tongue, willing them to part for him.

"Mmm," Amanda moaned into his mouth, opening her own against his demanding kisses, sliding her leg along his, needing to be as close to him as she could. She whimpered when Lee broke their kiss, but her whimper was replaced by a squeal when he lifted her up with both hands, hooking her legs on either side of his, and then lowered her mouth to her neck, suckling on it greedily. "Lee," she gasped as she tugged at his tuxedo jacket to open it.

"Amanda," he murmured against her skin as he felt her hands, slipping into his pants to free him, her touch a contradiction as she gripped him firmly, yet stroked him slowly, only increasing his excitement. Pulling his lips from her neck, he growled into her ear, "I need to be inside you."

Amanda linked her free hand behind his neck, nipped at his earlobe and in a hoarse whisper, said, "I need you to be inside me."

No further words were spoken between them, consent already given on both sides, as Lee shifted her panties just enough to help her guide his erection into her, both moaning at the sensations created by their renewed connection. Lifting her up higher, Lee pushed himself into her as deep as he could go, causing her to cry out his name again, while she pressed her back firmly against the wall to push her hips against his, both needing to be as connected as possible.

They stayed still like that for a long moment, gazing into one another's eyes, the unspoken truth burning between them, but neither having the courage to acknowledge it. Amanda wrapped both arms around the back of his head, burying her face in his neck unable to bear the intensity of his searing look penetrating her just as he was penetrating her body. She clamped her mouth down on his neck, nipping and suckling at his skin, pushing against him with all her might to urge him to continue what had been started, desperate for feeling of completion that only he could give her.

Lee, following her lead, relishing the feeling of her warm, wet lips on his tender skin, did the same, suckling her neck greedily as they began the age-old dance. He withdrew nearly completely from her only to plunge back into her again, holding tightly to her hips to draw her down to meet him, her impossible wetness drawing him in again and again. He kept his movements slow and hard for as long as he could, wanting it to last, needing to be within her warm, welcoming body for as long as humanly possible, but when she let out a strangled cry against his skin, he found that the need for completion, overrode his need to make it last. In a last-ditch effort to maintain some self-control, he pulled her head from his neck, forcing her to look at him.

Amanda, seeing her lover's passion-glazed eyes searing hers, questioning what she wanted, she gave the only answer she could, locking her lips to his and pushing her hips against his to spur him on, her need for him overtaking her.

Lee complied with her silent request and gave into her fiery kiss, plunging into her repeatedly, no longer slow and hard, but fast and frenzied. The jealousy that he denied that he felt over the men who'd hit on her tonight only fueled his fire for her, driving him to make her remember how good they were together and to make her forget that any man existed except him. He pulled his lips from hers, staring intently into her eyes as he felt her tightening around him, her body shaking against his. At seeing her close her eyes as she reached her peak, he grasped the back of her head, and growled, "Look at me, Amanda," as he pushed into her again, gratified when her eyes fluttered open and he saw the depth of her desire for him. He continued to drive into her until he reached his own release, erupting within her, never taking his eyes from hers as the waves of pleasure crashed over him. His breath coming in ragged pants as he came down from his high, he found himself lost in the deep, chocolate eyes staring back at him. "Amanda, I-" his words were cut off by the sound of voices out in the entryway. "Shit," he groaned as he released her, slipping out of her in the process as they both scrambled to straighten their clothing before they could be caught.

An awkward silence filled the room as they waited to see if they would be interrupted. When they heard the voices pass on by, Amanda broke the silence by stammering nervously, "I...um...I should go...Um, straighten myself up a bit...you know...before I go home." She bent to retrieve her fallen clutch.

"I'll wait for you," Lee said. "Instead of getting you a cab, I'll...um...I've give you a ride myself." He cringed a little as he realized how that sounded after the ride he'd just given her.

"No, that's not necessary."

"I insist. You go do what you need to do and I'll get our coats," He said.

"Okay," she said with a slight smile before she exited the room, making her way back to the same ladies room in which she'd delivered her message to Magda.

Amanda was just finishing making herself presentable and was about to leave the room when she nearly ran headlong into Phyllis as she entered. "Oh, excuse me," she said.

Phyllis gave her an awkward smile and said, "Oh, no, don't worry about it. It's my fault. I was a little distracted since I just saw Lee out the foyer."

The other woman's simpering smile and syrupy voice getting on her last nerve, Amanda smiled and said serenely, "Oh, yes. He's waiting for me. We're going home now. This party is something of a bust because there's not really anyone interesting here to talk to. If you'll excuse me, I really shouldn't keep him waiting any longer." She then brushed past Phyllis and out of the room to find Lee waiting for her, already wearing his coat.

Without a word, he helped her into hers, placed the hand on the small of her back and guided her to the exit. He smiled at her for a beat, then said, "So, at least you won't being going home half an hour after you left. We managed to kill a little time, didn't we?"

Amanda couldn't help but laugh and said, "Yes, yes we did."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Amanda entered her home, she found her mother banging around in the kitchen as if looking for something.

"Hello, Mother," Amanda said greeting her with a kiss to her cheek then said, "What's going on?"

"Good question," Dotty said as she stared at her daughter, a flurry of thoughts running through her head as she vividly recalled the break-up argument she'd had with Dean and how she'd told him about some mystery man that she'd been supposedly sleeping with and how she'd later denied it, unconvincingly, of course. What she couldn't figure out is if her daughter cared for this man enough to sleep with him for months, why wouldn't she tell her anything about it or bring him around to the house to meet the family?

"I...uh...I don't know what you mean, Mother," Amanda said guiltily.

"Well, you left here just an hour ago for a party and now you're home already. It just makes me wonder if the excuse you used to end your relationship with Dean was more than that," Dotty replied as she continued her search for the missing vitamin C.

Amanda sighed and sank onto a stool at the island and said, "Mother, I already told you, I just wanted to make him understand that there was never going to be a future between us and that seemed like the only way to do it."

"Okay," her mother replied skeptically. "It's your life, Amanda. If you want to throw it away on some meaningless affair when you had a man who loved you and wanted to marry you that is your business. So, I am just going to keep my mouth shut and hope that you learn something from this experience."

"Mother, I am not throwing my life away on some meaningless affair," Amanda protested. As seeing her mother rooting through cabinets and drawers, she asked, "What are you looking for?"

"The vitamin C," Dotty snapped, her anger at her daughter and her frustration at not finding what she was looking for pushing her over the edge.

"We should talk about this," Amanda said, knowing that her mother's ire had nothing to do with her search.

"I have absolutely nothing to say on the subject.

"You're angry," Amanda said.

"I am not angry," Dotty's muffled voice came from a lower cabinet as her search continued. She banged the cabinet shut and said, "Do you know where the vitamin C is?"

"Upstairs in the medicine cabinet," Amanda answered.

"No, it's not," Dotty sniped, her irritation growing. "I looked there first. I wish people wouldn't move things." She then began rooting through the kitchen drawers again.

"You're angry because I won't tell you who I went out with tonight," Amanda aid pointedly.

Dotty glanced up at her for a moment and said in a softer tone, "I'm not angry, Dear," then returned to her hunt.

"Well, then you're hurt and that's even worse." Amanda let out a deep sigh, and then said, "Mother, I know that I've lied to you before. In the past, I have, but I don't wanna' do it anymore because it makes me feel just...awful."

"Of course it does, it's totally against your nature. I mean, you were never a secretive child," Dotty said as she pointed an accusing finger at her and then turned to the cabinets across the room from where Amanda said. "You always came to me with your little confidences and I always understood."

Amanda looked down and said, "I don't think you'd understand this one."

"Oho, but I already do," Dotty said as she turned back to her daughter and leaned slightly against the island countertop. "I mean, he is married to an impossible woman. They have not lived under the same roof for at least eight months." When Amanda looked at her in surprise, she said, "Bud Marcher," hoping to get her daughter to confess.

"Bud Marcher," Amanda said the shock evident in her voice as her mother moved her search to the lower cabinets right nest to where she was seated. "Mother, Bud Marcher is a married man. Do you think I went out with a married man? Besides that, this wasn't a date, this was business!" When her mother rose and glared at her expectantly she added nervously, "And I can't say anything else about it."

"Amanda, I am not pressing you, am I? I mean, that's just not my way. If you say it's business, it's business," she said firmly though her voice smacked of distrust.

"I never dreamed things would get so complicated," Amanda said softly.

"Well, they usually do," Dotty said. The conversation continued for another minute with Dotty deciding to boil a grapefruit and Amanda going off to bed. Dotty shook her head after Amanda left and said, "Business? What kind of business is she in that she can't tell me about?"

The following night, after Amanda had left for yet another mysterious evening out and she was left alone wither her thoughts, she began to really ponder the events of the past two days. She was beginning to think that the wild affair theory made more sense that her having some job that she couldn't tell her about. Something had to explain her daughter's sudden secrecy over the past few months and all the wild stories she'd been telling her about her sudden disappearances, her repeatedly ruined clothing and the damage done to her car. Her suspicions were further confirmed when Amanda once again arrived home an hour after she'd left and went straight to bed.

Amanda fell asleep that night, a smile on her face that at least Lee had attempted to make things up to her by taking her to the party. She reflected back on his words to her, _these things sometimes go on for hours. _The seductive tone in which he'd said it, the twinkle in his eyes and the dimpled smile on his face letting her know that he wasn't talking about just the party. 

Lee fell into bed, a smile on his face in spite of fighting the burgeoning cold clouding his head. He reflected back on his brief date with Amanda and the flirty conversation they'd had, how beautiful she'd looked on his arm, the stunning, almost backless blue dress making him crazy. She looked amazing in blue. His smile faded though as he thought about his cowardice in telling her that he'd taken her there to make up for their hurried departure from the earlier party and for all she'd had to put up with from Magda. He mentally kicked himself for his words to her of the previous night; _This isn't a date. _He sighed as he realized that their evening together tonight hadn't really been a date either, not if he hadn't told her that he thought of it that way. _Not a date,_ he thought in frustration at his lack of courage when it came to her, unable to figure out how he could be so brave in the face of flying bullets, but so terrified in her presence.


	15. Date With a Suspect

**Chapter 15-Date With A Suspect**

"The Mole"

David Benson's a suspect," Amanda said warily.

"You got it," Lee said with a firm nod.

"I have a date with a suspect, ugh," Amanda cringed. "How am I gonna' get out of it?"

"Well, uh...Are you sure you want to?"Lee asked hopefully.

"What?"Amanda asked in surprise.

"I thought you bought that line of his all the way," Lee said in annoyance.

"You thought what?"Amanda said in an offended tone as she folder her arms across her chest.

"Was it Paris in the springtime or was it Athens. You were wearing red," Lee said in a mocking tone.

"Oh, really," Amanda said in exasperation

"All that stuff that women go for," Lee said with an icy glare.

"Go for! He asked me to lunch! It was a simple lunch invitation, that's al! You're making it sound like a-"

"Hey, hey, hey, If you wanna' go out with a guy that's got more scalps on his belt that Geronimo, you be my guest," Lee said hotly.

"Well, if you didn't want me to go, all you had to do was say "No, don't go!" Amanda said.

Oh, sure, sure and sound like I was Je-" Lee looking at her and the fiery, angry look in her eyes just made him think about all he times he'd seen a fiery look in her eyes for an entirely different reason, realized that he needed to get a grip on his emotions. "Look, Amanda," he said in a softer tone. "What I am trying to say is that we're not, you know emotionally involved.

"I know that," Amanda replied a little too shrilly. It sounded harsh even to her own ears.

"Or anything like that."

"Well, of course not," Amanda agreed sharply. "And I think I should go out with him. I think I should use it as a fact-finding survey. I mean, I really think I can probably find out much more about him by talking to him than by looking at his banks statements." As she said this and the logic of it sank in, her voice had become softer and less agitated.

"I suppose," Lee said agreeing with he logic, but still not happy with the idea of her going on a date with anyone except him.

"So, what should I do?"Amanda asked worriedly.

"Hey, it's your own personal time," Lee replied bitterly, wishing more than anything that she'd choose to spend her personal time with him.

"Is it a yes or a no?" Amanda questioned as she seriously wished he would say no. He very clearly had been acting jealous just a few minutes ago, but now he was acting as if he didn't care one way or the other.

"Uh...yeah...well..." Lee stammered nervously, the deeply confused look in Amanda's eyes disconcerting to him.

"Yeah, well I think I will," Amanda said as she crossed her arms again at not getting the response she wanted from Lee.

"Alright," Lee said, but felt it was anything _but _alright.

"I'm going on a date with David Benson," Amanda said with a firm nod.

"Terrific," Lee said sarcastically.

"Mm-hmm, yeah, right," Amanda said.

"Huh, terrific."

"Good, I'm happy," Amanda said but in reality felt depressed that Lee stubbornly refused to tell her how he really felt about the situation.

"Fine!"

"Good, I'll see you tomorrow," Amanda said as she started to walk away.

"Good," Lee said then turned toward her, "But it was your decision."

Amanda smiled a false bright smile at him and walked away.

"Great," Lee muttered after she'd walked away, cursing himself. It may have been her decision, but it was a decision that he had goaded her into. He stood for a moment silently kicking himself that he'd driven her to another man when the thought of any other man on a date with his Amanda made his stomach lurch.

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Lee sat in his car watching bitterly as David Benson escorted Amanda up her front walk and silently fumed as they said goodnight, Benson's hand on the small of her back, which was _his _spot. He cringed when he saw the other man leaning in for a kiss, but he got a brief moment of satisfaction at seeing Amanda turn her head at the last second, only allowing Davey's lips to connect with her cheek. He chuckled as he watched the clearly awkward moment that passed between them at the missed kiss and watched as his competition slunk to his car like a scolded dog with its tail between its legs and smiled gleefully when Amanda never even looked back, just walked into her house.

"Mother, I'm home," Amanda called as she walked into the den dropping the fur wrap she'd worn on the couch.

"Oh, hello, Darling," Dotty said as she greeted her daughter with a kiss. "How was your date with Mr. Benson?"

"Fine," Amanda said with a sigh as she leaned on the back of the couch.

"Don't sound so enthused, Dear," Dotty said sarcastically. At her daughter's glaring look, she said, "So, I'm guessing that he's not the man that you were involved with when you were seeing Dean? Or are you still involved with this mystery man?" she probed.

"Mother, how many times do I have to tell you that there is no man that I'm involved with? This dinner with David Benson tonight wasn't really a date, it was for work," she said another sigh at how complicated her life was. David certainly thought it was a date, but she knew better. She'd only kept her date with him to investigate him. Well, that and to get Lee's goat and maybe...maybe make him a little jealous.

"Oh, work, huh? Did he realize this? I noticed he tried to kiss you tonight."

"Mother, were you spying on me?"Amanda asked in shock.

"Well, how else am I supposed to know what's going on in your life. You say you don't want to lie to me, great! However, not telling me things is the same thing. It's lying by omission."

"No, Mother, I already told you Dean was the one that I lied to," Amanda argued feeling horrible about lying to her mother again, but knowing that she had no choice, not just because of her feelings for Lee, but because of the danger of their work.

"I don't believe that, Amanda. I heard what you said to him and, more importantly _how _you said it. I know you don't want to tell me about it. You said that I wouldn't understand, and maybe you're right. Maybe I wouldn't understand, maybe you feel as if I would judge you for whatever it is that you're doing with this other man, but let me assure you, Darling, I will not judge you, no matter what. You can tell me anything."

Amanda sighed once more and said, "I'm sorry, Mother, I just can't tell you this."

"Fine, you do what you want. I'm going to bed," Dotty said as she stormed up the stairs.

Amanda shook her head and buried her face in her hands muttering, "How did this all get so complicated?" Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar tapping at the back door. "Great," she groaned, "I should just ignore it," but even as the words were out of her mouth, she found herself inexorably drawn to the back door and the man she knew she'd find on the other side of it. She'd barely opened the door when she found herself yanked outside by a pair of strong arms and then pushed up against the back of the house, Lee's mouth locked to hers in a possessive, demanding kiss. Unable to resist the pull of her passionate partner, she opened to him willingly, her tongue slipping against his as they fed on each other as if they were both starving to death. She moaned and gasped as she felt his hands sliding under her dress to cup her bottom pushing the evidence of his desire for her against him.

Lee had lurked outside her house after her date had left, watching silently until he could be sure that she was alone, before rapping at her back door. He hadn't planned on this, on attacking her the second that he saw her, but seeing her in the revealing, spaghetti strap dress, knowing that she'd worn if for David Benson and not him, his possessiveness of her had taken over and he felt an all-consuming need to claim her as his won. His heart soared when she responded to him instantly by kissing him back just as hungrily as he was kissing her, parting her lips beneath his, her tongue snaking out to meet his. He needed not only to kiss her, but to touch her. He ran one hand up her leg to the soft thigh expose by the slit in her dress, before grasping her rear, startled when his hands made contact with lace, He pulled back from her and said, "That's different."

"What's that," Amanda said as she struggled to catch her breath and regain some sense of composure. She felt a dire need for Smokey the Bear to make an appearance to put out the raging forest fire within her.

"This," He said with a squeeze to her bottom. He then lowered his lips to her ear and whispered low, "Did you wear those for your date with him?"

"No," she said. "I wore them for me."

"For you?"Lee said as he pulled back from her slightly.

"Yes, for me. Sometimes a woman just wants to feel sexy. As many women as you've been around, you oughtta' know that."

"These are _very_ sexy,' Lee murmured as he slipped one hand inside the lacy panties in question to touch her while he used his other hand to lower one strap on her dress as he ran his mouth from her bared shoulder, along her collarbone and to her neck.

"Lee," she sighed, her voice a hoarse whisper as he made her come alive, the forest fire still raging. She tugged on his head, pulling her to him for another series of searing open-mouthed kisses while Lee used both hands to push her panties down. When she felt him grasping her bottom as if to lift her up, she stopped him with both hands on his chest, breaking their contact, "No, not like that. Not this time," she whispered as stepped out of her heels and the panties that were now around her ankles. She then pushed hard on his chest, backing him up until he was half-leaning, half-sitting on the picnic table.

"What exactly did you have in mind?" He said with a glint of merriment in his eyes as her assertiveness. She never ceased to surprise him.

"This," she said as she pushed him into a sitting position before yanking the tails of his shirt from his jeans, then lowering her hands to free his manhood from the constricting denim, stroking him boldly before dropping to her knees to take him fully into her mouth.

"God, Amanda," Lee groan as she slid her wet tongue along his shaft and tried to resist the urge to push himself further into her mouth. He became even more turned on as he looked down at her to watch her expertly working him into a frenzy, teasing him, taunting him with her very talented mouth. "Oh, so good," he growled.

Amanda released him, looked up at him and smiled, "Like that, do you?"

"Mm-hmm," he sighed just before she began again, causing him to emit another loud groan.

"Shhh," she hissed, "My mother just went to bed and she's probably not asleep yet."

"Then you need to stop what you're doing," Lee fired back, his eyes blazing with desire.

"Oh? I thought you liked it," Amanda said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, God, you know I do. Too much," Lee said.

"Well, how about this then," Amanda said as she pushed on his chest once more forcing him to lie on his back, his legs draped over the end of the table as she climbed up on it with him, planting one knee on each side of him while she worked the buttons on his shirt loose. "Hmm, so much for you hating plaid," she said with a giggle as she nodded at his shirt while she ran her hands up his chest. "Are you sure that wasn't just you being jealous of Dean?" she teased.

"Why should I be jealous of him? He's not in your life anymore. Besides, if I were gong to be jealous of anyone, it would be your ex-husband. He's the one you used to wear sexy nightgowns for," he said as he recalled their liaison up against her refrigerator and the prim cotton gown that he'd removed from her body that day.

"You liked the sexy underwear, didn't you," she murmured against his skin as she trailed kisses along his chest.

"Yes, but you didn't wear those for me and it's still not a sexy nightgown," Lee said sighing in contentment at what she was doing to him.

"Well, maybe this will make up for it," she said as she sat up enough to grasp him firmly and guide him into her.

"Ohhhh." he groaned and said, "That's a good start," as he reached up to place his hands on her waist while she pushed against him using her knees to rock back and forth, teasing him. His jealousy over her date with David Benson faded as she rode him, knowing that the other man hadn't even gotten a goodnight kiss and that just minutes after he'd dropped her off, her she was, making him hungry with need for her. He used his hands on her waist to guide her motions, keeping things as a slow pace, as he pushed his hips up against her, wanting to prolong the feelings being inside her gave him

"Lee," Amanda hissed as her pleasure built, the feeling of him inside her, the sounds of his low groans and the satisfaction in knowing she was the cause of them, making her weak. She tightened her knees against him as her climax hit her, making her see stars

"'Manda," Lee cried as he felt her walls closing around him as she bucked her hips against his, bringing on his own release as she collapsed onto his chest. He rocked her against him, raining soft kisses into her hair, which was now partially loosened from the pins that had held it up as they both rode out the waves of their mutual pleasure.

"Wow," Amanda said in a shaky voice when she'd calmed down a little. She lifted her head to look at him, "So, is this what you stopped by here for?"

"I...um...was in the neighborhood?" Lee said hesitantly.

"In the neighborhood, huh?"" She replied as she sat up, extracting herself from his grasp and sliding herself off the table. "That's strange because you live on the other side of the Key Bridge and as far as I know, you don't know anyone else in Arlington, so why exactly, were you in the neighborhood?"

"I...Uh...I," Lee stammered.

"I see," Amanda said. "So, you thought you'd come here and we'd..." she turned from him to head toward the back door.

"No, Amanda," Lee said as he scooted off the table and yanked his pants up, fastening them quickly and grabbed her arm to stop her, turning her to face him. "I mean, I'm not sorry that it happened, but that wasn't what I came here for. I...I...I wanted to make sure you were okay, that you were safe. David Benson is a suspect, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Amanda said softly.

"How'd he get you into Senator Castleton's party anyway. Our type is not usually invited to those things,"

"He said he knew the cater-" She stopped as realization hit her. "You were spying on me!" she said angrily. What is it with people spying on her love life: First her mother, and now Lee.

"I wasn't spying on you!" Lee denied.

"No?'

"No," Lee said as he struggled to find an answer for her, mentally cursing himself for giving himself away. "I...You know, I'm the lead on this investigation. I was spying on him, not you! I was just doing my job!"

"OH? And you just happened to be "doing your job" on the night you knew I had a date with him?"

"Hey, you should know by now that the spy game isn't exactly a nine-to-five gig," Lee pointed out.

"Yes, well you should know from the James Delano incident how I feel about being spied on by now," Amanda said.

"Oh, well, that was a job and the way you talked this afternoon, this was just supposed to be a job too. A fact-finding survey, I believe were the words you used."

"Y-y-yes, that's all it was," Amanda said.

"And what _facts_ did you uncover about Davey?"Lee said hotly.

"I found out that he is a very charming man," Amanda said with a smile unable to resist goading him with the way he was acting.

"You're not seriously falling for all his cheesy lines, are you? I mean, come on, the guy's divorced. That oughtta' tell you something. What does that say about him?"

Amanda wrenched her arm from his grasp, her eyes flaring in anger. "OHO? Is that how it is? Well, then, maybe you should stay away from _me_! I'm divorced too. If you're judging him for being divorced, what does that say about how you feel about met?"

"Amanda, I didn't mean-" Lee attempted to apologize.

"Goodnight, Lee, I'll see you tomorrow," Amanda said as she snatched up her discarded shoes and underwear and headed into the house, slamming the back door behind her. Once she got inside, she breathed a sigh of relief, however, her moment of peace was not to last.

"So, you're not involved, hmm?" Dotty said as she entered the kitchen, folding her arms across her chest looking at her daughter expectantly.

"No, Mother," Amanda said as she made sure she kept her underwear out of sight from her mother.

"Then do you mind telling me who that man was that you were just with in the back yard?"

"M-m-man," Amanda stammered.

"Yes, Amanda, the man," Dotty said. "I went to check on the boys before going to bed and you know their room overlooks the back yard and I saw you out there with a man. Granted, I didn't see much because it's so dark, but you were clearly out there with a man. From what I could tell, it didn't look like the same man you went out with tonight. Are you going to start this again? Dating one man, while having a burning affair with another?"

"I'm not dating anyone and I'm not having an affair with anyone. I'm not seeing David, I told you, that was work. As for the man, in the back yard, that was work too. That's it."

"I see and exactly what kind of work could you be doing in the back yard at ten-thirty at night?"

"You know, it's late. We should both get to bed," Amanda said as she hustled past her mother and up the stairs.


	16. We're Friends?

**Chapter 16-We're Friends?**

"Savior"

"All I'm saying, Amanda is that you walked out of the house this morning with a wonderful apple pie in your hand and a spring in your step and then you here this afternoon, dragging in with your chin on the linoleum. I'm just concerned, that's all."

"Thank you,' Amanda said softly, as her worry about Lee continued to plague her.

"Oh, good heavens, Amanda," Dotty said. You don't have to thank me. I mean, when you hurt, I hurt." Dotty turned to her, hoping to cheer her up and said, "I'll tell you what? Why don't we go to a movie? I'll call Mrs. Simms and she can come over and sit with Jamie and Phillip, and we'll see something with...a...well, with an R-rating for a change."

"Mother," Amanda said briefly glancing up from her bowl.

"Hmm?" Dotty said.

"One of my friends quit his job today," Amanda said sadly.

Amanda listened as her mother told her all about how her father had once quit a job and found a better opportunity and about how her friend had options. This idea perking her up and giving her hope that she could turn Lee around, she made her way quickly out of the house and to Lee's new apartment.

An hour later, Amanda sat in her car on the edge of tears after being rudely hustled out of Lee's home and that wasn't the worst of it. What had stung the most was when she'd told him that she wouldn't let it go because they were friends; he'd told her point blank that they were nothing more than former business associates as if all the time they'd spent in each other's arms had meant nothing. Amanda leaned her head against her steering wheel and let the tears fall, sobbing her heart out that he seemed to care so little for her that he could just brush her aside like that.

Lee sat in his apartment nursing a glass of scotch after Edson had left, cringing at the harsh words he'd spoken to Amanda, and hating the hurt look he'd seen in her eyes when he'd said them. "Former business associates, my ass," he muttered as he took a swig of his drink. He remembered vividly every moment he's spent in her arms, kissing her furiously, every touch, every word spoken in the throes of passion, needing her to sustain his heart the way he needed food to sustain his body.

"Damn!" he swore as he slammed his drink down and began pacing restlessly trying his damndest to figure out how he was going to make this up to her when it was all over. His pacing took him by the window overlooking the street and he did a double-take as he saw her car still parked outside. He paused at the window and glanced down, seeing her hunched over the steering wheel. "What is she-" He broke off, his heart breaking as he realized she was sobbing. _Because of me, _he thought, cursing himself, cursing this case, and cursing the agency's asinine policy of "need to know." It took all the willpower he had not to rush down there, take her in his arms and tell her that he didn't mean it, that he was on special assignment and he had to act as if he'd severed all ties with the agency.

Lee started when he saw her raise her head, wipe the tears from her eyes and glance up at his window. He started to back away, but then thought better of it. He gave her a warm smile, hoping she wasn't too far away to catch it. When she looked at him hopefully and made a move to open her door, he shook his head, giving her his best "trust me" look. She looked back at him, nodded, and then started her car and drove off. He just hoped she'd gotten the message.

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"I want you to forget anything that Ballon ever told you. I don't know what he said to get you into this, but he is not working for the agency, I AM!"

"You are, but he isn't," Amanda said in confusion.

"That's right," Lee said with a nod.

"Then why am I hauling this trailer around?" Amanda asked with a gesture to the horse trailer hitched to the back of her car.

"Well, let me ask you this? Who's the least obvious person in the whole world to be hauling a secret weapon, huh?" When Amanda nodded in acknowledgment, he continued, "A suburban mother in a station wagon hauling a trailer, right? Now, where are you supposed to be meeting him?"

Amanda sighed and said, "He lied to me and I believed him. I am really foolish."

"No, wait, hold it, hold it, you believed in _me_, huh? You did what you did because you trusted me. Now, I don't know anybody that would go that far out on a limb for a friend," Lee said feeling a dire need to make up to her for the way he'd treated her when he knew his place was bugged. He clasped her arms to comfort her and said, "Amanda, you are not foolish, You are very far from it."

"Friend?"Amanda said with a hopeful smile, the hurt she'd felt at his callous treatment of her easing up. "We're friends?"

He smiled at her, her smile and his touch on her arms both shocking him to his core. He released her arms and said, "Well, I...Uh...I exaggerate a little."

"There!" Lee shouted in triumph a short while later when Amanda's Bombers badge stopped them both from being blown sky high.

"I wasn't scared," Amanda said with a smile

Both he and Amanda breathed a sigh of relief as they leaned back against the horse trailer. "Oh, Whew!" Lee said as he tried to calm down.

"I wonder why everybody ran away like that," Amanda said.

Lee playing along with her twisted humor, still breathing heavily replied, "I don't know. Something we said, you think?"

Amanda looked at him with a piercing glare and he just smiled at her and grasped her arm as he laughed at their jokes. She couldn't help but laugh in return and clasped his hand on her arm. Their eyes locked as the contact jolted both of them, reminding them of how close they came to losing it all. Before either knew what was happening, they were wrapped in each other's arms, kissing feverishly as they groped at each other, both still reeling from the adrenaline rush of nearly dying. Lee slid his hand under her coat, tugging at the bottom of her blouse as he lowered his lips to her neck. "Lee," she sighed.

"'Manda," he murmured against her skin.

"Lee," Amanda said as she gasped for breath. "Not here." While she wanted him fiercely, this was a little too exposed for her even though the agency sedans had already peeled away in a frenzy.

Lee complied, reached for her hand and pulled her to her feet, arms still locked around her, stealing kisses here and there until he had guided her around to the still-opened back door of her car. He backed into it, felling backward onto the seat, pulling her atop him, still kissing her furiously. He felt a burning need to be close her after yet another near-death experience, needing to apologize to her for her awful treatment of her during this assignment, for treating her as if she didn't mean anything to him when nothing could be further from the truth. His hands slipped under her blouse again, running his hands up her bare back beneath it as she reached for the hooks of her bra and was surprised to find just a strap at her back. He pulled his lips from hers, looked at her in surprise, and said, "What?"

Amanda smiled at him, her eyes twinkling in merriment as she unfastened the buttons of her blouse revealing the front closure of her lacy white bra. "See?" she said, chuckling delightedly when he nodded in understanding.

Lee chuckled as well and said in a low voice, "What other surprises do you have for me in your lingerie drawer?" He couldn't help but wonder what else he would learn about her after the sheer, black lacy panties she'd worn under her evening gown and now this.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She teased as she planted a firm kiss to his lips. She then pulled back to look at him and said suggestively, "You know I have a blanket in the back," with a nod to the back of the wagon.

"Yeah?" He said as he caressed her exposed torso amazed by how she continually surprised him.

"Mm-hmm," she said. "And this seat folds down."

"Sounds like a plan," Lee said.

"I thought you might like that," Amanda said. She planted one more quick kiss ot his lips, then clamored over the back seat, unfolded and spread out the aforementioned blanket, while Lee found the latch to release the back seat, folded it down and soon joined her pulling his pullover jacket over his head and dropping it in the backseat on the way.

"Amanda," He growled against her ear as he took her in his arms again and they sank down together side by side, as he pushed her coat, cardigan and blouse off her shoulders in one smooth move, before flicking open her bra, then lowering his lips to her exposed breast while his hand caressed the other.

"Oh, Lee," she sighed at his touch, tears forming in her eyes, so glad to feel him so close to her again.

At hearing the quaver in her voice, Lee stopped what he was doing and was startled to see the tears in her eyes, "Amanda..."

"Don't stop," Amanda said. "I...I need you."

"Amanda, we should talk about this," Lee said feeling like a heel for making her cry again.

"No, no talking," She said reaching for her hand and placing it back on her breast. "Just touch me...Please." She tugged on the back of his head, urging him toward her. "I...I need you to touch me." She then tugged at the bottom of his turtleneck and yanked it from his pants sliding her hands over his skin, thumbing his nipples.

"Oh, Amanda, you're not playing fair," Lee groaned as the touch of her hands on his bare skin was making him crazy with need for her. There was so much that he wanted to say to her. "I need to apologize-" his words were cut off by her lips on his.

Amanda pulled back and said, "If you really want to apologize then touch me. Remember what you said about the bomb, it's gonna' blow? Well, if you don't touch me, _I'm _gonna' blow."

"Amanda," Lee protested, but was silenced by her finger on his lips.

"Lee, please. Make love to me," Amanda said her voice taking on a note of desperation, tugging again at the turtleneck that he wore, her need to feel his body molded to her overriding her common sense. He'd hurt her, but the look in his eyes when he'd said they were friends just before meeting Edson Ballon had told her that he didn't mean any of it.

This time Lee helped her to remove the garment, her pleading for him more than he could bear. He could no longer fight the urge to give into her burning need for her. If she wouldn't let him tell her how sorry he was, then by God, he was going to show her. He pulled her to him, crushing her breasts against the hard wall of his chest as plundered her mouth with his own, relishing the taste of her, the feeling of her so close to him, her scent invading his nostrils, while her nimble fingers ran over his skin, setting him alight with every touch. Needing to breathe, he pulled back from her for a brief moment, looked in her eyes and softly whispered, "Amanda, I really am sorry."

"Shhh," She said placing her finger to his lips again. "I know. I know you were just playing your cover. Now, less talking, more touching. I don't have a lot of time. Phillip has a school play tonight."

"Oh, right," Lee said as if he'd known about it when in reality, he had spent enough time with her in the past couple of days to really know what was going on in her life.

Amanda toed off her sneakers while Lee did the same, running his hands down her torso, his hand resting on her hip for a moment before he took the lead and rolled her beneath him. He ran his hands across her flat stomach as the thought of her son made him remember that she was a mother. He placed a soft kiss to her abdomen, awed by the fact that for a woman who'd given birth to two children she had an incredibly slender body. He'd heard from the married guys at work that once their wives had kids, they went to hell, but Amanda obviously had not. Other than the slight shadow of faded stretch marks, there was no evidence that she'd carried two babies inside her. As he pressed his lips against her skin, showering her with soft kisses, he couldn't help but wonder what she'd looked like when she'd carried them, which caused his mind to ponder what she would look like if she carried _his _child. That thought only increased his desire to fill her completely as he opened her jeans and shifted to pull them down her long, shapely legs, dragging her panties down with them. When she was naked beneath, him, he whispered in a hoarse voice, "You're so beautiful," just before he dipped his head between her leg to taste her, feeling her hands sliding through his hair as he did so.

"Lee," Amanda sighed as he worked her into a frenzy with his lips ant tongue, her building desire for him so fierce that it wasn't long before she was trembling beneath him, calling out his name repeatedly. She closed her eyes tightly against the onslaught of sensation, her mind only barely registering the hiss of his zipper before she felt him pushing inside her, stretching her, filling her the way she'd wanted him to. She waited with breathless anticipation and when he just stayed still, she opened her eyes to find his eyes staring into hers, questioning, as if asking for permission to continue. Her answer was to slide her arms up his chest to his shoulders, pulling him down to her, needing to feel his reassuring weight above her.

"Amanda, I-"Lee began wanting to tell her just how much her felt for her, but for the third time, she silenced him, placing her finger against his lips.

"No talking, remember?" She slid one leg along his before wrapping both of them around him, pushing up with her hips, wanting to pull him deeper into her.'

"Ohhhh," Lee groaned at feeling Amanda wrapping herself around him giving herself to him completely. He complied with her wishes, pushing into her fully, the retreating and advancing repeatedly. Feeling her welcoming him with each thrust was like coming home. His thoughts drifted to the home life and family that he'd never had and how easy it would be to let her give him that home if only he could bring himself to tell her that. For a fleeting moment, he wished she weren't on the pill, that she'd allow him to create that family life that he so desperately craved...with her. His distance from her this week had made him realize just how at home he felt with her, longing to be welcomed into her warm home, the same way she welcomed him into her body. Those thoughts becoming too overwhelming, he tried to suppress them, knowing it would never happen as he buried his face in her neck, peppering her neck, her face and her jaw with tiny, soft kisses as he moved within her, longing for a day when he didn't have to hide in her backyard. He increased the pace, driving into her harder than he had before, needing the release that only she could give him, not just the physical release, but release from the pain of his past.

"LEE!"Amanda cried, another intense orgasm ripping into her as she clutched at his shoulder, her nails biting into his skin while she nipped at his neck the same way he was with hers. She pushed her hips up against him, needing to drive him over the edge, to feel him exploding within her as the bomb would have had they not stopped it together.

"AMANDA!"Lee shouted unable to help himself as their movements, her cries of pleasure and her body wrapped so tightly around his, set off the time bomb that had been ticking within him since the day he'd met her. He continued his movements, emptying himself into her, filling her and wishing that one day, they'd both be able to let their guard down enough that he could truly fill her. Breathing heavily, he collapsed atop her, whispering her name again and again and raining tender kisses on her skin until his shaking subsided. When he was able to finally breathe normally again, he pulled back to look at her with a smile only to have his smile fade within seconds at seeing silent tears streaming down her cheeks. "Amanda..." he said, not sure what to say. In his frenzy to possess her, had her hurt her? Surely, she'd have said something or told him to stop if he'd been hurting her. He made a move to pull away from her, but was stopped by her arms pulling him to her.

"Don't, Lee," Amanda said in a shaky voice. "Not yet. I...I need to feel you inside me just a little bit longer." She swallowed hard and then continued. "With what happened, I...I...thought I'd never get to have this with you again."

Lee reached out to wipe her tears away and asked, "Is that what these are about?" Amanda nodded. "You don't have to worry about that. Anytime you want me, I'm yours." Realizing how that sounded, he quickly pulled back, withdrawing from her, reaching for his discarded clothes as he turned from her. _Smooth, Lee, _he scolded himself. _Way to make it sound like you're just using her for sex, when in reality, you know you can't breathe without her. _

"Lee..." Amanda whimpered at the loss of him close to her.

"We...uh...we should get you home. You've got Phillip's play, remember?"

"Right," Amanda said as she began getting dressed. "Lee?" she said hesitantly.

"Hmmm?"he said his voice muffled as he pulled his turtleneck back over his head.

"Did you mean it when you said we were friends?"

He smiled at her and said, "Yeah, we're...friends," _and lovers, _he added to himself, wishing to God, he had the courage to say it aloud. "Hey, do you have time to give me a lift back to m place?"

"Yeah, I've got time," Amanda said smiling back at him. For him, she had all the time in the world.

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That night in the school auditorium, Dotty glanced at her daughter and the wistful smile on her face. "You certainly look like you're feeling better."

"I am, Mother," Amanda said.

"So, does that mean your "friend" is back on the right track?"

"Yes, Mother, he is. In fact, he was never on the wrong track to begin with. I...um...I just misunderstood what he was doing. Everything's okay now."

"Good, good," Dotty said. "So, I...uh...I have to know. Is this the same friend that you were having your "business" discussion with in the back yard?"

"Mother!"

"Never mind, never mind. It's your life," Dotty said but with a look at her daughter that clearly said she was done inquiring about her mysterious friend.

"Yes, Mother, it is _my_ life, which makes it _my _business," Amends snapped tiring of her mother's incessant questioning of her life choices. "I really wish you would stop treating me as if you're Miss Marple and I'm some murder suspect. I think you've been reading those Agatha Christie novels too long."

"Darling, you know that I only ask these questions because I care," Dotty replied.

"I know you care, but you're just going to have to trust me that I know what I'm doing."

"Amanda-" Dotty began.

"The curtain's rising, Mother," Amanda said with a nod at the stage. She smiled as she waited for the play to begin.

Lee slipped unobserved into the back of the auditorium, searching with just his eyes until he spotted Amanda sitting in the front row with her mother. He smiled as he watched her watch her son on stage, wondering if the day would ever come that he'd be allowed to sit with her at these things,. He chuckled as he reflected back on their argument about Bomber fathers, during the case that had nailed David Benson when he'd emphatically told her he never had any intention of being a Bombers father. He glanced up at Phillip on stage and his smile widened as he thought about the fact that her bombers button had save both of their lives, thinking for the first time, that maybe being a Bombers father wouldn't be so bad. He crept silently through the auditorium and found a seat in the back where he wouldn't be observed and settled in to watch the show, his smile never fading.


	17. Is That Why You're Busy Tonight?

Author's Note: In reviewing the earlier episodes for the purposes of writing this tale, I noticed that Amanda seemed to be following the old tradition of widowed and divorced ladies to wear the wedding set on the right hand to indicate their singlehood. I saw this in several episodes up until this one in which it was replaced by what looked like a class ring before she removed it to put on the "friendship" ring. So my evil little mind came up with a plan to use that for this chapter.

**Chapter 17-Is That Why You're Busy Tonight?**

"The Artful Dodger"

Amanda was beginning to get flustered by the debate in Billy's office about her ring and finally said, "It was given to me by a friend and therefore it is simply...a friendship ring."

"Okay, Sure. Friendship," Francine said with salacious grin as she exited the room.

Amanda shook her head and turned to Billy. "Sir, I could rearrange my schedule and change my plans, if you need me."

Billy nodded, but before he could say anything, Lee interjected, "No, no, no, Hey, if you've got a heavy date tonight, forget it."

Amanda's voice overlapped with Lee's as she said, "I don't have a heavy date tonight."

"No, really."

"I don't have a heavy date," Amanda repeated.

"Who gave you that ring," Lee said in a demanding tone, jealousy flaring. More than jealousy, fiercely protective of Amanda, he wanted to know who the guy was who thought he could give her a concubine ring. Did the guy think she was some easy lay? Did he think that she was some common whore? That thought infuriated him more than he liked. Their voices continued to overlap as the debate continued.

"Oh, I don't think you should ask me a persona question like that,"

"Personal. I wasn't being personal," Lee argued, but he couldn't deny the anger he felt at the idea that Amanda had some hot date with some random guy that he knew nothing about, a guy who'd given her some cheesy line about that ring being a friendship ring. He found himself not just angry at the mystery guy, but at her complete naiveté at buying into it.

"...especially here at work," Amanda said thinking of all the times that his jealousy of other men in her life had led to them being locked in each other's arms. "This is not the time."

Soon Billy's voice joined the overlapping din, "Amanda, Scarecrow," when he got nowhere, he repeated, "Scarecrow, Amanda, Listen!" He'd watched their verbal ping-pong with some amusement for a moment but now he was getting annoyed.

They both turned to him, their voices, once again overlapping, as Lee said, "What?" while Amanda replied, "Yes, Sir. I'm sorry, Sir."

Now that he had their full attention, Billy turned to Lee and said, Scarecrow I've got just two words for you, Fred...Fielder."

Lee then turned to Amanda and said, "How about 7:30?"

Amanda turned to Lee and replied, "I'll help you."

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"Thanks for the family history," Lee snapped irritated by Amanda's ramble about her ex-father-in-law. However, if he were truly honest with himself, he'd admit that it wasn't the ramble that was getting to him. It was the fact that she'd slipped and nearly referred to him as her father-in-law before correcting herself, making him wonder if she still thought of herself as married. That thought filled him with a flurry of questions. Was she still pining for her ex-husband? Was that why she'd turned down the weatherman's marriage proposal and eventually ended things with him? He thought about all the times that he'd snuck into her back yard and had seen her interacting with her sons and wondered why she was always doing it alone. Where was her ex and why didn't he ever come around to visit his children? What was the reason for their divorce? Had it been ugly? Had he hurt her? No, he couldn't imagine Amanda putting up with any man abusing her, not as fiery as she was. Had he cheated on her? Knowing Amanda the way that he did, he imagined that she'd never put up with infidelity. He knew how seriously she took commitment, but then that left him to wonder why she didn't seem to be open to a committed relationship now.

He reflected back on how angry she'd been with him about the wisecrack he'd made about David Benson being divorced and how she'd reminded him very bluntly that she too, was divorced and had sensed not only anger, but sadness when she'd said it. That led him back to the idea that maybe she was still in love with her ex-husband. That thought made him angrier than he could stand, not only at the idea that she was hanging on to a man who'd obviously caused her pain, but seemed to have basically abandoned his children. _His children, _Lee thought, a sick feeling lodging in the pit of his stomach as he thought of how babies were made, his mind wandering where he definitely didn't want it to go. She'd mentioned that she'd started the pill shortly after Jamie's birth and he recalled vividly her conversation with Penny about how she used to wear sexy nightgowns for her ex-husband when things weren't going so well. In his mind, he had built up this image of her as the wholesome mother of two and would like to think of her only having had sex with her ex twice.

_Now, who's being naive, Stetson_," he scolded himself. He knew logically that it wasn't true. A woman as passionate and vibrant as Amanda, who wore sexy nightgowns to entice her husband when things were bad between them would definitely not have been celibate during her marriage. Besides, why else would she have needed to be on the pill after giving birth to her younger son if she weren't sexually active? He felt a pang of sadness for her if she felt that wearing sexy nightgowns was the only way to keep her marriage alive. He wondered just how long things had been bad between them before they finally ended it. His emotions whirled as all these thoughts hit him at once; sorrow for her and whatever pain her divorce had caused her, sadness for her children growing up without their father, as he knew all too well what it was like to be parentless. He also felt anger toward the faceless ex-husband who'd been stupid enough to let her go and bitter envy of the man who'd once shared her bed on a regular basis. He was utterly confused by that one. How could any man in his right mind walk away from her? _Lucky bastard, _Lee thought bitterly. If he were fortunate enough to have Amanda in his bed every night, he'd...

_You'd what?_ He asked himself cursing his own stupidity for not having the balls to man up and tell her how he really felt about her. _That's right. You'd nothing, Stupid, _he chided himself. He couldn't even summon up the courage to take her to his bed. All of the times they'd made love and it had still never been in a bed, they'd still never spent a full night together or woken up together, had never been on a real date. No, she reserved the real dates for guys she could take home to meet her mother. Guys who didn't have to hide in the shadows and lurk around her house like some pathetic peeping Tom. As much as the thought disturbed him, he wondered if she wasn't just using him for sex. He knew that she considered them friends, but when the need struck both of them, she became, for a moment, much more than his friend, but it was fleeting. Once it was over, they both pretended that nothing ever happened and went back to their separate routines, neither acknowledging that _something_ kept pulling them together. He wondered what would happen if he would ever ask her out on a real date.

All these thoughts plagued him throughout their conversation about Granger, through his phone call to find that the guy hadn't shown up to work. He found himself growing more and more agitated. He wanted nothing more right now that to get the hell away from her and be left alone with his thoughts. Damn Billy and his insistence on him having Amanda help him with this assignment. "Come on, come on," Lee huffed impatiently as he felt she was taking far longer than she should to pull an address for Granger.

"Lee," she said in a warning voice.

"What?" he snapped.

"Rushing me will make me nervous," she said giving him a cool glare thoroughly annoyed by his behavior today in Billy's office and the way that he'd acted as if he had a right to know everything about her personal life when he'd shown no interest in pursuing a real relationship with her. In fact, there were times that he'd acted downright callous about their many sexual encounters as if they were nothing more than a filling of a mutual need. Why would he begrudge her the opportunity to have a social life? It's not as if she was sleeping around, not that it was any of his business if she were. He wasn't her boyfriend. He'd made it clear on many occasions that the two of them were "not involved."

Lee shook his head, trying to shake off the feeling of dread that came over him as the staredown she was giving him, turned his head and began whistling, trying to be nonchalant about it as if he didn't care. He looked back at her at hearing her say, "Whistling is rushing," to find that she was still staring at him icily. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to wipe that glare off her face.

Finally having had enough, Lee leaned over her and said impatiently, "Then let me do it!" _Bad move, Lee, _he said to himself as the movement had brought him into closer contact with her than he was comfortable with, his face inches from her partially exposed neck as she had her thick hair piled atop her head. He swallowed hard and fought the urge to clamp his mouth down on that very spot that he knew would make her crazy with raw need as it had in the past.

"I can do it," Amanda snapped shrinking away from him.

"Then do it already," he snapped back as he leaned in again, "Either that or get out of the way so I can do it!"

Amanda's ire flared and she said, "Fine! If you think you can get the job done so much faster, then go for it!" She then rose from her seat angrily, which was the wrong move to make, his close proximity to her causing her to slam right into his solid frame nearly losing her balance, only to be caught by his steadying hands as she braced her own hands against his chest for support.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Both were breathing heavily from a combination of their argument and the underlying desire between them simmering just beneath the surface. They made a move to close the gap between them simultaneously, the simmering rising to a rapid boil as they kissed and groped, tugging at the multiple layers of clothing between them, tongues dueling, hands working buttons and zippers, clutching at each other in a frenzied race to see how could get the other one naked first. They moaned against each other as the heat of their passion ignited both of them.

"Oh," Amanda gasped as Lee's mouth descended on her newly bared breast. _How had that happened_, was her fleeting thought her desire for him building as she felt him tugging at her jeans.

Lee pulled back slightly and growled in frustration, "Damn you and these jeans," as he struggled to remove them from her lithe form. "What happened to skirts?'

"You told me to wear something that I was comfortable in and that I could move in," Amanda reminded him. "A skirt wouldn't have fit that request."

"Great," Lee said as he finally accomplished his task of getting her jeans open, pushed them down and slipped his hand inside her panties. "What a great time for you to listen to me for once."

"It's not as if I thought we'd be doing this ton- Oh!" her argument was cut short by Lee's very talented hand stroking her, one finger inside her while her caressed her center with his thumb while he pushed her panties down with the other hand.

Lee lowered his lips to her neck, giving up all pretense of hiding his passion for her, groaning against her skin as he felt her tugging at his jeans with one hand while she caressed him through the denim with the other. "God," he muttered into her neck. "You're already wet,' he whispered as he nipped at her skin while he continued to stroke her inside and out.

"You always make me that way," she whispered back as she moved her hands to his shoulders for support, his touch was on the verge of making her knees buckle as she neared her climax. "Oh, Lee," she cried as she felt it begin, but before it could continue, that contact was gone and she felt herself being turned around as Lee braced her hands on the back of the chair. "Come on, come on," she snapped impatiently mimicking his earlier words.

Leaning over her, Lee whispered in her ear in a mocking tone, "Rushing me will make me nervous." He quickly freed himself from his jeans and plunged into her hard from behind, gratified by hearing her crying out his name again. He clamped his lips down on her neck, as he'd wanted to before, one hand gripping her hip as he pushed into her reputedly and the other stroking her center. "So wet," He murmured against her skin, "so good," he added as he felt her clenching around him as her release hit her and heard her crying out his name. Wanting to make it last, but also driven by his intense need to possess her to make her forget about any other man, he couldn't stop himself from slamming into her as hard as he could until it was too late to hold back any longer. He let out a long, loud, groan as the simmering desire finally boiled over and he emptied himself into her, crying out her name uncontrollably. He cradled her against him until his shaking subsided and his breathing became normal again.

"Oh," Amanda whimpered as she felt Lee pull out of her, mourning the loss of him inside her. She heard the hiss of his zipper behind her, indicating that he was righting his clothing. She glanced down at her hands still gripping the back of the chair, knuckles white with the pressure she'd exerted during their frenzied coupling, sighed, released the chair and began tugging at her own clothing. "Wow," she said softly.

"Well, I know it's not why you planned to be busy toni-" Lee broke off at the thought that she'd planned to go out with the guy who'd given her the ring and snatched her hand to stare at it. "Or is it? What _were_ you planning on doing with him tonight anyway?" he demanded.

"What?"Amanda said startled. "That is none of your damn business!"

"No?"

"No," Amanda said snatching her hand from his grasp.

"Well, I noticed that you're no longer wearing your old rings like you used to. Instead, you're wearing...that," He said with an angry gesture to the garish ring still on her finger. "Does that mean that this guy is the one you're thinking of replacing your ex-husband with?'

"What does my ex-husband have to do with this? I haven't seen him in over three years except for the ten minutes we were in the same room to sign the final divorce papers! As for this guy, I already told you that it's none of your business!'

"How is it none of my business?" I think I have a right to know if you're sleeping with both of us like you were with that guy, Dan, the one who bought you the shiny diamond that you turned down."

"Dean!" Amanda yelled shaking her head in disbelief at Lee and his raging jealousy. She jabbed a finger into his chest and said, "And that was also none of your business."

"Oh, come on, Amanda, you let this new guy give you a damn concubine ring, so he must think there's something there if he even had the balls to do something like that! That means you must have given him a reason to think it was okay!"

"Well, I don't notice _you_ putting any rings on my finger!"

"Well, if that's what you expect, you can just forget it!" Lee said.

Amanda's voice overlapped his, "In fact, I haven't ever heard you ever ask me out on a real date! How do you know that Dean bought me a ring anyway? Were you spying on him just like you've been spying on me?"

"I wasn't spying on him, but as your partner, I have a right to know that the people you socialize with aren't a risk to national security!"

"Oh, isn't it interesting that every time I have a date with another man, I'm suddenly your partner, but any other time, you're this big loner who doesn't need a partner?"

"I _don't_ need a partner!" Lee shouted.

"Good, then since you don't need me, I'll just go home!" she said and stormed toward the door then stopped suddenly trying desperately to calm down and catch her breath.

"Fine! Who needs you anyway?" he said turning around finding himself staring at her back. _You do, _he told himself. When he noticed that she wasn't moving. "What? I thought you were leaving."

Amanda sighed and turned back to face him, saying softly, "You drove me here."

"Oh, right," Lee said. He also sighed, running a hand through his hair, then said, "Well, since you're still here, we might as well finish the job we started," as he indicated the microfilm machine.

"Right, the job," Amanda said with a nod as she settled in again in the chair. She glanced briefly at the ring and thought of Alan's words when he'd given it to her that he wanted her to look at it and think of him. She shook her head as she thought that when Lee had been making her crazy with need, she most definitely had not been thinking of Alan.

"Right," Lee said.

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Amanda babbled nervously as she fiddled with her knife and fork, feeling tremendously guilty that her trust of Alan had led to Lee's injuries, as she tried to figure out if this dinner invitation from Lee was his attempt to ask her out on a real date. She wondered if it hadn't been prompted by their fight in the PWAC microfilm room. She felt like she was back in high school trying to determine if the boy that she liked, liked her in return.

"An apology?" Lee sighed as her heard Amanda ramble on as he struggled to sip at his soup through his swollen lips. The pain in his mouth, though was taking second place to the pain in his heart that she had failed to realize that this had been an attempt to ask her out on a real date as he thought she wanted after their shouting match the other day. He quickly covered his hurt by saying that he ate there all the time and to finally, just shut her up, told her that it was an apology.

Amanda, hearing Lee say that their dinner together was an attempt to apologize for his prior anger, quickly changed the subject to hide her disappointment. "Would you like your jell-o now?"


	18. Much More Natural

Author's Note: So for this one, I had two different ideas in mind, either the scene on her back porch during the "I don't want the best, I want you" or the care scene with the "Much more natural" bit. I debated for a while on which one to use and decided to opt for the latter because I decided it would be much more funs since it takes place in the car and it's after Dotty's "burning passions" lecture. With that in mind, just imagine that it took Francine a little longer to get her "Suburban frump" look together and that they didn't immediately pull apart. I hope you all enjoy. I also did a little editing to the prior chapter, adding a tiny bit more dialogue and correcting a couple of errors that I overlooked in my proofreading.

**Chapter 18-Much More Natural**

"Filming Raul"

At seeing Amanda shiver, Lee became concerned. "What's the matter?" When she turned from him and shivered again, he asked, "Are you cold?"

"No, I'm a little scared. I guess I shouldn't admit that, but...uh..." She shook her head.

"Hey, come on," Lee said as he draped his arm around her to comfort her. "I'm scared too," he added with a chuckle then smiled at her as it felt nice just to be close to her for a moment.

Amanda briefly smiled back at him and to avoid the risk of getting lost in his eyes again, quickly turned from him and said, "That isn't very reassuring," with a slight cringe.

"What I mean is, I feel responsible for Scotty and Raul. I wouldn't want anything to happen to them," Lee attempted to explain, but when Amanda looked at him in chagrin, then turned from him again he added, "Or to you...too...I mean..."

"Yeah," Amanda said with a slight nod. They smiled and gazed at each other for a moment.

When Lee saw Amanda attempting to turn from him again, he stopped her with his hands on her arms, forcing her to look at him. "Hey, Come on, Amanda, look, you're going to be alright. You're protected by the best ther-"

His words were cut off by Amanda saying, "I don't want the best there is, I want you." His comforting touch stirred that fire inside her that only he could seem to ignite.

Lee mistaking her meaning looked affronted leading to an awkward conversation with Amanda apologizing and both of them stammering nervously before Amanda made a beeline into the house.

_Good one, Amanda, _she thought with a sigh and a shake of her head as she entered the house, glad to get away from him for a moment, yet feeling more secure in the knowledge that he was out there looking out for her and her family. She was kicking herself for coming right out and admitting that she wanted him, but was grateful that he seemed oblivious to her true meaning. Her thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of the phone.

Dotty, having seen her daughter's nervousness and her peering out the window, had initially thought that her nerves had to do with the accident, but witnessing her clipped phone conversation and seeing her ready to bolt from the house afterward made her change her opinion. _This is about her secret lover that she won't admit to having," _she thought. _The one she was fooling around with when she was seeing Dean. No wonder she can't make a relationship last._ She'd seen her daughter casually dating a few different men since breaking it off with Dean, but none of them seemed to last very long. "You are making a mistake, Amanda," she scolded. She stood in the doorway of the living room, her arms folded across her chest as she watched her daughter heading for the cost closet. "A man does _not_ respect a woman that he can call on a whim."

"It isn't what you think, Mother," Amanda said as she pulled her coat on.

"You are seeing a man, aren't you? These burning passions, midnight assignations, they _don't _work."

"Mother, it's only 8:30," Amanda replied as she shut the closet.

Dotty shook her head and said, "I cannot manage your life for you. Maybe you're entitled to a meaningless affair, something passionate and fiery, with no future."

"Maybe I am," Amanda said thoughtfully, pulling on her coat, as she thought about the fact that she and Lee definitely had the passionate and fiery covered. As for the "no future" part, she wished she knew. "I'll be back in an hour," she said and headed for the front door.

"An hour!" Dotty said in shock. When Amanda just turned and smiled awkwardly at her before making a hasty exit, she leaned back against the doorway for support and cringed. "Ugh! One of _those_."

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Amanda babbled nervously about government spending while Lee countered about Francine being the trained agent. Their debate went on until she finally said, "What do I do?"

"Billy thinks it's a terrific idea that you stay with me until we get your car back," Lee said gazing at her with a warm smile, the thought of her "staying with him" filling his mind.

Amanda looked at him, saw the gaze on his face and feeling like she could get lost in those eyes again, quickly turned from him and said, "It would be a lot simpler the other way."

"And a lot quieter," Lee said still gazing at her. "Francine makes the drop.

Amanda turned back to look at him and found him still staring at her. She pulled her gaze from his again and said, "You know, my mother thinks I'm involved in some kind of...clandestine love affair."

Lee chuckled as he thought of their own "clandestine love affair" or whatever you call it and couldn't resist trying to get a rise out of her. "Your mother should know you better than that."

"Why?"Amanda said fixing him with an icy glare.

"Why? You're not the type, that's why."

Her thoughts were in a flurry as she wondered just how he could say that about her after all the times they spent in each other's arms. She turned from him and began babbling again, "Well, I don't know how you can say that my mother should know me better than that. I mean, you never can tell who's the type for what. I mean, I'm not the type to be a spy, but look at me... And...I mean, you never..." She turned her attention back to him, swallowed hard at the burning gaze she saw in his eyes and said, "...you never can tell what a person might do under certain..." her voice trailed off as she finally allowed herself to be once again drawn into to Lee's hypnotic bedroom eyes. Out of nowhere, Lee grabbed her and pulled her to him. Amanda's heart skipped a beat, thinking that like her, he'd gotten caught up in the moment too.

"There's a local patrol car passing by. This looks much more natural," Lee said as a means of explanation, though it was no hardship to be holding her this closely.

"Oh yeah, it's much more natural," Amanda whispered as she found her hand of it's own accord sliding up his chest to rest on his face.

"Yeah," Lee said pondering his own words and how it felt completely natural to him to be in her arms.

"Yeah," Amanda repeated feeling that nothing was more natural than to be close to him.

Both were breathing heavily, a combination of nerves about being caught by the local PD and by each other's nearness. Lee turned his head slightly in an attempt to watch the police car, but instead found his mouth just inches from Amanda's. Feeling her rapid heartbeat against him, her shallow breathing in his ear, her hand on his face, her slender body so close to his, he was unable to resist closing the distance, pressing his lips to hers. He felt hr respond right away and lowered his hand from her back to her bottom, pulling her more into his lap, both their mouths opening to each other, beginning a new exploration of each other.

Amanda's hand slid from Lee's face to the side of the passenger seat, fumbling for the release she knew was there.

"Oof," Lee said as the back of the seat dropped, Amanda now fully pressing against him. He slipped his hands beneath her coat and under her sweater to caress her bare skin.

"Who's not the type?" Amanda said hoarsely, not giving him a chance to respond before lowering her mouth to his, pushing her tongue against his lips wanting to taste him again. She rocked against him and soon shifted her mouth to his neck tugging at the collar of his turtleneck to give her better access to the tender region of skin she knew set him on fire. She wanted to set him on fire, wanted him for burn for her the way that she burned for him, needed to remind him of just what type she was. She moved her other hand to tug the turtleneck out of his pants and slid it underneath to caress his chest.

"OH, I take it back," Lee said with a groan, awash in sensation at her lips on the tender pulse point at his neck, her hand teasing one nipple while his hands worked their way down to cup her bottom, squeezing it tightly as she ground against him, making his jeans feel painfully tight. His hips twitched against hers as he slid his hand to her front of her jeans, fumbling with the closure, he usual smoothness thwarted by the trembling on his hands.

"Here, Let me," Amanda said as she pulled back from him long enough to shimmy out of her jeans. "I know how much you hate me wearing jeans."

"No, I never said that, you look great in them, I...Uh...I just think you look better out of them and the jeans you were are so tight, it's a pain to get you out of them," he teased.

"You know, you don't look so bad in jeans yourself," she said in a seductive tone as she ran her hand along the bulge in his pants causing him to groan. She smiled at him alluringly and added, "But we need to talk about these turtlenecks." She ran her hands up his torso under the offending garment.

"Don't like them?" he questioned sighing at her touch.

"Mm-mm," she said as she moved her hands back down to open his jeans. "I can't touch you the way I want to."

"OH," Lee choked out as she gripped him firmly. "No? You're doing a pretty good job right now."

"Well, you just never can tell who' the type for what," she teased as she scooted to the floor to take him in her mouth.

"Manda," he growled at the feeling of her warm mouth enveloping him, suckling and teasing him, his hands involuntarily tangling in her hair, bucking against her as she took all of him in.

"Mmm?" Amanda said stopping what she was doing to look up at him with a sweet smile.

Lee gaped at her in shock and said, "Why'd you stop?'

"Oh, well, you said my name. I thought you wanted something," she said smiling innocently.

"You..." Lee paused, not even sure what he wanted to call her. Changing tactics, he said, "I'll tell you what I want." He tugged at the panties she still wore, tearing the fabric, and then pulling her to him roughly to him, her whispered low in her ear, "I want to be inside you." Giving her no chance to respond, he gripped her hip and immersed himself in her causing them both to cry out.

"Oh, Lee," Amanda sighed at the incredible feeling of him being inside her again, satisfying the craving that had been building all night in knowing it was in her back yard, mere feet from where she'd had her way with him on the picnic table. It seemed that her craving for him was never fully satisfied. Every time that she was in his presence, she felt like a heroin addict jonesing for her next high and that he was her dealer. Pushing her feet against the floorboard, she rocked against him, needing to reach that high again. She leaned her head against his as they moved together, their coupling slower and easier than the last time due to the limited space inhibiting their movements. "I love the way you feel inside me," she whispered in her raspy voice as she nipped at his earlobe, then the tender patch of skin just beneath it.

"Amanda," he growled as he wrapped his arms around her. "I love... love feeling you wrapped around me," he said as he pushed up into her meeting her rocking thrust for thrust, creating the perfect rhythm. His thought whirled as how he'd almost confessed his feelings for her then and there. That wasn't a place he was ready to go; not yet. To keep himself from blurting it out in the heat of the moment, he planted his lips on her neck while his slid one hand between them to stroke her softly, wanting her feel her tight muscles spamming around him again. He was rewarded for his efforts by hearing her soft cries against his skin as she trembled above him, feeling her clenching around him. Knowing she had no more control, he shifted both hands to her hips pulling her to meet him as he drove up into her bringing on his own release, crying out her name again as he spurted within her filling her with all of himself.

"Lee," Amanda said softly, her voice a hoarse whisper through her heavy breathing and the thudding in her chest. When her breathing slowed enough to form a coherent thought again, she lifted her head to look at him and said, "So, what was it you were saying about my mother knowing me better than that?"

Lee chuckled, reached for the remains of her panties. "So, does she know that you wear these?" He asked, amusement dancing in his eyes as he held up the tatters of her black, lacy thong.

"Not unless she's been snooping in my lingerie drawer. Like I said, you just never can tell," she said with a laugh. "I guess I won't be wearing them again though."

Lee laughed and said, "I guess not. Sorry."

"Don't be. I have more where those came from," she said with a seductive smile as she pulled back, turning from him as she reached for her jeans, scooting back into the driver's seat as she pulled them on.

"Oh? And what else do you have in your lingerie drawer? Sexy nightgowns, maybe? For your clandestine love affairs?"

"_Affair_," Amanda corrected, "One. _One_ clandestine love affair."

"Oh? Who's the lucky guy?" Lee said in a teasing tone, but with an underlying hope that she was talking about him.

Amanda glared at him and said, "What is it you always say to me? If you have to ask the question..."

"...you won't understand the answer," they finished together.

"So, does that mean...uh...I mean...Is that how you see...this...this..." He sat up reaching for the latch beside the seat to pull it back to its upright position and tried again. "Is...is that how you see...us?"

"Us? Is there an us?"she asked, not daring to look at him for fear that he'd shoot her down and deny the underlying feelings between them.

Lee glanced at her, then unable to take the fact that she wasn't looking at him, shifted his gaze to the rearview mirror to see Francine hurrying toward them. "We better..." he nodded toward Francine's approaching figure as he hurriedly straightened his clothing, hastily shoving the lacy undergarment in his hand into his coat pocket. He smiled for a moment as he did so, liking very much the idea that she was now not wearing any underwear. He started to say something else, but was stopped by Francine rapping on the window. "Uh...Look, trade jackets with Francine.

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Amanda entered her house to find her mother on the couch, still perusing the insurance paperwork. She tried to slink up the stairs without being seen, but was halted by Dotty's voice, saying, "How was your evening?" without looking up.

"It...uh...It was fine," Amanda stammered.

Dotty glanced at her and her somewhat disheveled appearance. "Clearly. You were gone more than an hour," she said giving her daughter a knowing look. "That man of yours must have more stamina than I gave him credit for."

"Mother, really," Amanda said, perturbed at her mother's leering look.

"Come on, Amanda, we're both adults here. Level with me. I don't want to intrude on your private life, but I would like to know a little more about it, that's all."

Amanda looked down, unable to face her mother any longer, wringing her hands together and said softly, "I would like to, Mother. I hate keeping secrets from you, but this...this...you...you just wouldn't understand." How could she explain to her mother that a man she'd only known a few months made her regularly lose all self-control when he was close to her, that the simple touch of his hand, a simple smile made her weak in the knees?

"So,_ help_ me understand. I think we're both long past denying that there's a man in your life that you don't want me to know about."

"Okay," Amanda conceded. "Yes, there is, but I can't...what he does...I can't talk to you about that."

Dotty looked at her in alarm wondering just what it was about this man that made her so reluctant to talk about him. "What is it that he does to you? Is he pushing you into doing things that you don't want to do?" Dotty asked in concern.

"No, Mother, it's nothing like that," Amanda said sighing that her mother had misunderstood her meaning. She'd been talking about what he did for a living, but her mother had taken in to mean what he did to her. Rather than approach the taboo subject of the spy business, she decided to go with it and let her mother's misunderstanding work for her. It was better not to tell her mother she was a spy and to let her think she had a mystery lover instead. _You do have a mystery lover, _she said to herself. "There's nothing that he's done that I haven't wanted him to do. The way he makes me feel...I..." her voice trailed off.

"You told Dean he made you feel sexy and desirable," Dotty said. "That is, assuming this is the same man."

Amanda nodded, "It is," she confirmed. "He does." She sighed again as she thought of Lee's "much more natural" comment, about how being in his arms felt completely natural to her now as if she were right where she was supposed to be and said, "I don't know if there's any future in this thing. To be honest, I don't care right now if there is or not. I just...I just don't to stop feeling the way he makes me feel, so for now, I'm willing to take what he can give me and not worry about the future."

Dotty sighed and said, "It's your life, Darling. I just don't want to see you get hurt in the long run and I don't feel that you should settle for anything less than what you want. It's clear that you have strong feelings for this man. Is this the same man that I saw you with in the back yard?"

Amanda nodded and answered, "There hasn't been anyone else but him since I met him."

"But you've dated other men," Dotty argued.

"Yes, but they...they don't compare," Amanda said. "Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore. I know you're probably sitting there judging me or feeling disappointed in me, but I..."

"No, Darling, I'm not judging or disappointed. I just want you to be happy. If this love affair has been going on for all these months, maybe I was wrong. Maybe it does have a future, after all. If this man makes you happy, then who am I to argue? I just want you to be careful."

"Thank you, Mother," Amanda said. "I...um...I'm going to bed." Amanda hurriedly trotted up the stairs before her mother could stop her.

Dotty glanced after her pleased that Amanda had at least admitted that there was a man even if she wouldn't reveal anything about him. After Amanda had disappeared up the stairs, she quipped, "It seems to me that you've already been to bed tonight."

While Amanda was being interrogated by her mother, Lee had to endure one of his own. At the agency that night, he was just walking out of the debriefing room when he was accosted by Francine.

"So, generosity and stamina?" she questioned with an arched eyebrow.

"What?"Lee replied in confusion.

"You, Amanda," Francine said. "Remember, you once made a crack about the generosity and stamina of the American housewife."

"Oh, that," Lee said having completely forgotten about it.

"So, how about it? Is it true," Francine probed burning with curiosity.

"How would I know?"Lee said nonchalantly. "There's nothing between me and Amanda," but he couldn't help but wonder after their conversation tonight and how Amanda had finally seemed comfortable enough to use the word "affair" in his presence and even alluded to the idea that they were indeed having a love affair.

"No?"

"No," He denied vehemently. The last thing he needed were rumors getting around the agency that he'd bedded the suburban housewife.

"Then maybe you can explain to me why when I wore her jacket tonight, your scent was all over it, your cologne, your deodorant, your shampoo...I'd know those anywhere," she said with a lascivious grin reminding him of their own brief affair.

"Oh, that,' Lee said. "While we were waiting for you, we nearly got caught by local PD so we had to make it look like we were just a couple looking for a place to make out, so we wouldn't get busted."

"Oh, I bet the little homemaker got a big kick out of that," Francine said sardonically.

"Why would you say that, Francine? It was purely business."

"For you, maybe, but not for her," Francine countered.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh, come on, Lee, it's obvious to anyone with eyes that she's got a little crush on you, some kind of juvenile hero worship. It's...Well, let's face it...it's adorable."

"You're crazy, Francine," Lee said, but he couldn't help but smile. Was Francine seeing feelings for him coming from Amanda that he'd overlooked?

"I'm not. Ask anyone around here. I'm not the only one who's noticed it. I'd be careful how much you use the job to get close to her. She's just a housewife. She may take it the wrong way and we _all _know how you are when it comes to women," Francine said as she walked away.

Lee snorted at Francine's last comment, wanting to tell her that he hadn't been living up to his reputation lately. That that reputation was a thing of the past since hadn't been to bed with anyone except Amanda in months, but knew that would be a bad idea. Associating Amanda with him on a personal level around the office would do nothing to improve his reputation and would tarnish Amanda's in the process. No, it was better that they kept their interactions hidden, or as Amanda had put it, as a clandestine love affair. He shoved his hands in his coat pockets as he made his way out the door, chuckling softly to himself as he felt the tattered satin and lace beneath his hand.


	19. Save Me A Piece

Author's Note: So, in re-watching this, I noticed there was a little gap between the scene of Dotty and Amanda in the restaurant and the stop at the flower stand and that they were laughing about something before Dotty got distracted by the flowers so I thought that was the perfect spot to add a little extra to go along with the conversation they had in the last chapter. For the love scene, there were only a couple of places in this episode that I could have squeezed one in, since there is so much Amanda/Dotty interaction in it, so I decided to throw a little something in at the end based on their conversation about her not being able to invite him in for a piece of cake. On an additional note, I am using the dates given in "The Wrong Way Home" for Phillip's age even though the show throughout the second season said he was ten, with Amanda telling Lee that he was born in '73, he would actually have turned eleven on the birthday mentioned in this episode.

**Chapter 19-Save Me A Piece**

"Fearless Dotty"

"Amanda, I don't know why you work for a company that won't give you office space," Dotty said with a shake of her head as she gathered up her things. "I mean, you...You're never gonna' meet anyone working from home." Having had her daughter confess to her passionate love affair only made her all the more determined to see her in a settled, stable relationship.

"Mother, I don't _wanna'_ meet anyone right now," Amanda said emphatically. Didn't her mother understand that after their conversation of the week before that she wasn't worried about the future and was perfectly happy taking whatever Lee could give her? _Keep telling yourself that, _she chided herself.

"Amanda, that doesn't make sense," Dotty said with a slight chuckle. "How can you not wanna' meet someone that you've never even seen?" She glanced at her wondering if she was too far gone in the love affair with her mystery man that all she could do was pine for him.

Amanda shook her head as they exited the restaurant, chuckling at her mother's comment about serving wine.

When they reached the street, Dotty continued, "Don't think I don't know what this is about, Missy. You're so caught up in this mystery lover of yours, that you're terrified that any other man you meet just won't compare. Isn't that what you said about the other men you've dated recently?"

"And that's exactly why I'm not interested in meeting anyone. The last few dates that I've been on have been a complete waste of my time."

"Did you ever think that it might be because you're mentally comparing them to this other man? I mean, is he _that_ good?" Amanda couldn't help but chuckle as she thought of just how good Lee was, but just replied with a smile, causing her to laugh as well and say, "I guess so." As they laughed and walked down the street, Dotty was distracted by the flower stand.

Later that day after they'd arrived home, Amanda tried in the least revealing way possible to explain to her mother about her work and why she couldn't tell her about it. "I'm just..uh...I'm just trying to tell you that there's something that...I'd love to be able to tell you, but I can't tell you because I promised that I wouldn't."

"You thought I was pumping you about your work? Amanda, you know me better than that. I wouldn't pry into your life. I mean, I have too much in my own life to worry about."

"I'm glad to hear that, Mother," she breathed a sigh of relief then added, "because you wouldn't approve...and you'd worry."

Dotty made a face and said to herself, "I wouldn't approve? And I'd worry?" _What could be worse than what I already know about Amanda's secret love affair? _She thought. While she was in her room wrapping Phillip's birthday presents, she pondered their conversation her imaginative mind working overtime. What could be going on? She reflected on her daughter's rambling about her sick childhood dog and wondered again if she was sick. No, she'd denied it, so what else could it be? Why didn't she want her to know about her job? Maybe her secrecy about her job was to cover up something else. Her eyes widened in alarm as another thought struck her. _Oh, God, maybe her mystery loved got her pregnant._

She decided that she had to ask her and find out right now, "Amanda?' she called as she descended the stairs. When she received no response, she glanced around and her attention was caught by two silhouettes against the curtains of the French doors. Was this her mystery man? Was she telling him that he was going to be a father? She wasn't close enough to hear more than soft whispers, not hearing anything that she could clearly understand. She crept closer to the doors but still trying to stay out of sight because if she could see them, they could probably see her too. She slinked up to the side of the doors, just in time to hear a deep masculine voice say, "...No more unexpected guests." and hear Amanda reply, "Thank you."

"Oh, God," Dotty said as she hurried from the door not wanting to hear anymore and wishing that she hadn't heard what she'd already heard. She shook her head and decided to start working on the decorations. Looking around the room, she realized she'd need help and it would give her an excuse to get Amanda back in the house to question her. "Amanda, will you help me with the ladder?" she called.

When her daughter entered through the French doors a few minutes later, she looked at her quizzically and said, "Mother, where's the ladder?"

"We'll get to that in a minute. First, I want to know just what in God's name you're thinking about?"

"I don't know what you mean, Mother," Amanda said sheepishly.

"No? So, what were you and your gentleman _friend_ out there just talking about?"

"Were you spying on me again? Mother, I told you how I feel about that," Amanda replied getting irked with her mother.

"Nice way of not answering my question, Dear," Dotty said sarcastically. "You don't wanna' tell me, fine. I'll tell you, then. You've been reckless with this man and now you're trying to correct the problem. Am I right?"

"Mother, I don't know what you're tal-"

"Don't you?"Dotty interrupted, cutting her off. "Your lover got you pregnant and now he wants you to get rid of it and you're just happily agreeing to it."

"WHAT? Mother! No, that's not true. First of all, I'm not pregnant and second, if I were that is something that I would _never_ do, not ever. You should know me better than that."

"I would like to believe that's true, Amanda, but then again, I never thought that you'd ever spend months fooling around with a man that you felt you couldn't bring home to meet the family." Dotty sighed, then said, "So, if that's not what's going on, then what was he talking about when he said something about "no unexpected guests?"

"I was talking to him about the man who mugged me," Amanda explained. "He's...a...he's a little worried about me."

"Oh," Dotty said softly. Her eyes then lit up, "OH!" she repeated enthusiastically.

"Oh, what, Mother," Amanda asked wondering what her mother was thinking now.

"Well, I was just thinking that if he's worried about you, that's a very good sign. It means that he cares about you as more than just a fling."

"Of course, he does," Amanda said but then bit her lip nervously as she was unsure just how much he cared. "I...Uh...I mean, we...we're friends...and we see each other at work pretty often."

"A-ha!"Dotty said triumphantly. "So, that's why you don't want to tell me where you work. This man you've been seeing works there too."

"Yes, Mother, that's how we met," Amanda explained. "We're co-workers, but I...I really don't...No, _can't_ get into all that."

"Alright, no more questions about your job. You obviously don't want to talk about it, but about this man..."

"Mother," Amanda said in exasperation.

"Don't give me that look, Amanda. If you and he are more than just lovers and you truly are friends, too, then I don't see what the harm is in inviting him to the house for dinner once in a while. Or better yet, maybe, you could invite him to Phillip's birthday party. I mean, if you continue seeing him, then it's only natural that he should meet the children..."

"Mother, I'm not _seeing _him,' Amanda argued. "We're friends and co-workers and sometimes..."

"Secret lovers?" Dotty suggested.

"I don't know what to call it, okay? I...Look, can we stop talking about this? I need to change clothes and go into the office for a couple of hours."

"So, there _is_ an office?"Dotty probed.

Enough, Mother," Amanda said firmly. "I've gotta' go." She trotted up the stairs as quickly as she could to get away from her mother's grilling, shaking her head as she did with a chuckle, thinking what an asset her mother could be to the agency as an interrogator.

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Late the next night after the boys had gone to bed, Dotty was sitting on the sofa reading when she heard her daughter rattling around in the kitchen. She walked into the room to find her covering a plate of leftover birthday cake with saran wrap, dressed very differently than she had been for the party. "Are you going out?"Dotty inquired.

"Yes," Amanda answered. "I won't be gone long though. I just wanted to take some cake to my..." _My what?_ she thought. What exactly was Lee to her? "...friend."

"Your gentleman friend?"Dotty said knowingly taking in her daughter's appearance, the extra care she'd taken with her make-up and the knee-length black dress she wore. "The way you're dressed, I'd say you're planning on giving him more than a piece of cake."

"Mother, this is just a nice gesture to say thank you for him replacing Phillip's presents. He didn't have to do that. He's not in any way responsible for Phillip."

"He could be," Dotty said pointedly. "I mean, it's obvious to me that if this "thing" between you keeps happening, there's something there."

"As I already said, we're just friends and co-workers and...and sometimes..."

"I heard what you said, but if the man didn't care at least on some level, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of getting Phillip's present replaced. How exactly did he do that, by the way? I mean, you and I both know that the entire city was sold out of the Captain Galaxy dolls."

"I need to go, Mother. You'll look after the boys for me, right?"

"They don't need that much looking after since they're in bed," Dotty said. "Where I'm guessing you plan to be," she added after a beat, looking her daughter up and down.

"Mother..."Amanda said warningly.

"Okay, okay, it's your life. It's none of my business."

"Thank you, Mother," Amanda said planting a quick kiss to her mother's cheek before hurrying out the door.

Lee lay in bed that night, thinking of his last conversation with Amanda and how he'd compliment her on her use of the hose against the bad guys and how she'd suggested that he was glad she was there. He'd reluctantly admitted that he was glad she was there, but what he didn't' tell her is that he just enjoyed having her around, though he'd never admit it to anyone. He sighed and thought about what could have happened if Amanda _had_ invited him in for a piece of cake. He smiled as he recalled how he'd told her to "save him a piece" with an suggestive smile and how his heart had skipped a beat in seeing her smile back, knowing that she caught on to his double meaning. That thought made him ache for her, wish she were there with him. Needing relief, his hand drifted down to his boxers, closing his eyes, he imagined it was Amanda touching him. His fantasy was interrupted by a loud knock on his door.

"God," he said with a groan cursing the bad timing of whoever was at his door at ten o'clock at night. He quickly removed his hand from his boxers, threw the covers back and yanked on his robe as he padded barefoot to his front door, cinching the belt of his robe tightly. "This better be damn important," he grumbled as he wrenched open the door. "I was in the middle-" he stopped, his breath catching in his throat at seeing the object of his fantasy standing in the hallway, wearing a spaghetti-strapped, black dress and matching high-heeled pumps.

Amanda's face fell at hearing his unfinished comment and stammered nervously, "I...I'm sorry. If...i...I should go. I mean...If you...You're busy..." When she'd planned this out, it hadn't occurred to her that she'd be interrupting something. She'd seen a look in his eyes when he'd said to "save him a piece" that she thought mean that he wanted more than just a piece of cake, but she'd obviously misconstrued his intentions. "I...I should have called. I...I'm sorry." She turned to leave.

"No, Amanda, don't go," Lee said reaching for her arm to stop her. "Come in, I...Um...I'm actually glad to see you." M_ore than glad, _he thought.

"I...um..." she licked her lips nervously. "I don't want to intrude...I mean...If you're not...Um...alone."

"I'm alone," Lee said firmly. In fact, Amanda had been the only woman to set foot in his new apartment, but he'd never told her that. "Come in, Please," he said. "I...mean...unless you have someplace else you'd rather be." He added with a nod to her dress.

"No, right here is where I want to be," Amanda said with a little more confidence as she let Lee lead her into his home. "I saved you a piece of cake, like I said I would," she said indicating the plate in her hand.

"Great," Lee said with a warm smile. He nodded to the plate and said, "It looks like there's more than one there."

"Well, I thought that maybe we could eat it together," Amanda said.

"Sounds good. Let's go to the dining room and I'll get us some forks," he said gesturing for her to follow him. "You know, I've got a great bottle of wine that would go with that chocolate cake."

"That sounds good," Amanda said as she dropped her purse onto the couch and then followed him, reaching the dining room, just as he returned with the forks, and two glasses of wine.

They sat at the table with Amanda at the end and Lee to her right as they dug into the cake eating off the plate that Amanda had brought. "Mmm, this is really good," Lee said. "You made this?"

"Yeah," Amanda said as she took a bite of her cake and sipped at her wine to wash it down with.

"Hold it," Lee said with a twinkle in his eye.

"What?" she said, smiling at the way he was looking at her.

"You...um...you've got a bit of frosting right there," he said as he set his fork down and used his thumb to wipe it away.

Amanda sighed, electrified by his touch and said softly, "Did you get it?"

"Not yet," he said suggestively then leaned toward her brushing his lips against hers and licking at the chocolate frosting at the corner of her mouth.

Amanda's breath hitched at the contact, anticipation flooding through her, but it was just a fleeting moment that was gone all too soon.

"So...uh...what's with the outfit?" he asked. "You got a hot date tonight?"

"I hope so," She said with an alluring smile. "I seem to remember you saying you wanted me to save you a piece," she said in a lower tone as she toed off her heels slid her bare leg along his.

Lee gaped at her in surprise and whispered, "So, I did," his desire for her only increasing at the way she was looking at him, the way she was teasing him with her leg. Unable to stand it anymore, He rose to his feet, grasped her hands and pulled her out of her chair and into his arms, kissing her soundly, his tongue probing her mouth, moaning against her, the fact that she'd worn that dress for him and her eager response to him driving him wild.

Amanda moaned into his mouth as she tugged at the belt of his robe, loosening it quickly and sliding her hands up his chest to push it off his shoulders while he reached for the zipper of her dress, sliding it down slowly with one hand while his other caressed the exposed skin behind it then with both hands pushed the thin straps off her shoulders. He lowered his mouth to one breast while caressing the other with his hand. "Lee," she whispered, loving the feeling of his mouth and his hands all over her, making her weak in the knees, her dress now pooled at her feet.

Lee raised his head to look at her and said in a low voice through his rapid breathing, "I want you."

"I'm right here," Amanda said as she gripped his bottom firmly pressing herself against him, wanting to feel the evidence of his desire for her.

Lee needed no further encouragement. With a long sweep of his arm, he knocked the contents of the table onto the floor, and lowered her to it. He hooked his fingers into the sides of her panties and yanked them down her legs. Half sitting on the edge of the chair, he dipped his head, reaching out with his tongue to taste her delighting i feeling her twitch at the contact. He then began to devour her completely, alternating suckling at her and stroking her with his tongue.

"Leeee,' she hissed at the sensations he was creating in her, her hands flying to his head, her fingers sliding through his hair. "Oh, OH, OH!" she cried out clutching his head and bucking against him as she he brought her to her peak.

Lee raised his head to look at her, marveling at the glazed expression in her eyes, feeling a bit smug that he'd caused that look. Before he knew what was happening, she'd risen from the table and knocked him to the floor, the chair landing on its back with a thud beside him. "Oof," he groaned and barely had time to register what she'd just done when her hands were inside his boxers, pulling at them and then he was in her mouth, her lips an tongue making him crazy with need for her. "Oh, God, Amanda," he cried, the reality of having her here, so much better than the fantasy he'd conjured up. "Oh, that's so good, Oh, "Lee said as he tugged at her hair loving every second of feeling her warm mouth suckling him. "Amanda," he growled. "I...I'm not gonna' last if you keep doing that." While he was immensely enjoying what she was doing to him, he wanted to be inside her. He tried again to pull her head up, but she only clamped her mouth on him tighter, only sucked on him harder until he was beyond stopping it. He let out another loud groan as he exploded in her mouth and she continued to suck on his shaft until she'd sucked him dry leaving him panting and gasping for breath.

She raised her head and flashed him a smug grin, "So, how's that for a hot date?" she teased.

"Is that what this is?" Lee asked hopefully as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oh, I don't know. We didn't have dinner or anything, but we did have...dessert," she said suggestively.

"Yes, we did, but that was not the kind of dessert, i had in mind. I...um...I wanted to..." he trailed off and tore his gaze from hers.

"Yeah," Amanda said knowing what he meant without him saying it. She looked around at the mess he'd made and said, "You know...uh...we should probably...get this..." she nodded to the fallen dishes as she rose to her feet.

"Yeah," He said also getting to his feet.

Amanda began to pick up the mess, taking the wine glasses, forks and now, empty cake plate into the kitchen while Lee worked to clean up the cake mess. He couldn't help but be amused by the fact that Amanda hadn't gotten dressed before beginning work. He liked the idea of her walking around naked in his home and couldn't resist teasing her, "So, do you always do housework naked?" he quipped as he dumped the remnants of the cake into the trashcan.

"No, but this is a special occasion," she fired back, "Phillip's birthday and all."

"Oh, right," he said.

"Thank you again for what you did for him," Amanda said.

"I was just keeping my promise. It helps that my uncle is a career Air Force man. I've made a lot of contacts through him that were more than happy to help out when I told them it was for an eleven-year-old."

"Well, it was still very sweet," Amanda said, planting a quick kiss to his lips as she headed back into the dining room.

Lee washed the bits of cake from his hands then joined her in the dining room, just as she was picking up her clothing. "You're not leaving already, are you?"

"Um...well...I...Um...I have children that I have to get home to," Amanda said.

"Your mother's with them, right," He said.

"Uh...yeah," She answered.

'So, then you can stay a little longer," Lee said as he took her dress from her hands and tossed it aside.

Amanda turned from his intense gaze and looked down at the panties still in her hand and said, "You know, you've got to stop doing this, or I'm not going to have any underwear left." She indicated the torn scrap of fabric in her hands.

"Good," Lee said as he sidled up behind her. "Makes it easier to do this," he whispered in her ear as he pushed gently on her back to push her to lean against the table as he slipped into her from behind, bracing her hands on the tabletop.

"Oh, Lee," she sighed gripping the edge of the table tightly as he began to move within her, his arms wrapped around her waist, his lips against her neck.

"OH," he groaned at feeling her so wet and welcoming to him. This was what he'd been fantasizing about since leaving her back yard this afternoon. Well. not exactly this as he still wanted her in his bed. That thought only spurred him on, pumping harder into her as he lowered one hand to stroke her center until he felt her tightening around him, drawing him into her even deeper, as she screamed out his name repeatedly, him echoing with her name as her climax brought on his own. Once he was spent, and was able to breathe more normally, he turned her to face him before scooping her into his arms carrying he the direction of his bedroom.

"Lee, stop, "Amanda protested as she tried to wriggle herself out of his arms.

"Why?"

"I have to go home," She said pointedly as if it were obvious.

"Why? What's wrong with us spending a whole night together?" Lee said angrily as he set her on her feet, wondering now more than ever if she were just using him to scratch an itch.

"Look, I know you don't understand because you don't' have any obligations to anyone except yourself, but I do. I have two children at home and I don't want them waking up to find that I'm not there if they need me. It's bad enough that they don't have their father around. I'm not taking their mother away from them too."

"It's one lousy night, Amanda," Lee argued. "Can't they do without you just this once? You're not going to tarnish your mother-of-the-year reputation by spending one night away from home."

"I can't, Lee, not without some prior notice, so my mother knows that I'm not coming home." If she were truthful about it, she'd admit that she just didn't want to open that can of worms, that brought on the idea of real romance, which would lead to her falling for him harder than she already had and she couldn't allow that, not when she wasn't sure that they had a future.

"So, call her," Lee said. "The phone's right there."

"No, Lee, not tonight," she said as she retrieved her dress and shoes, putting them back on, grabbed her purse and headed for the door. "I'll see you at work tomorrow," she said then made a rapid exit.

"Damn it!" Lee swore wondering just what the hell had happened.


	20. You're Spending the Weekend With Me

Author's Note: For this chapter, I had to come up with a reason that Amanda was so nervous about sleeping in the same bed with Lee after all the times that they'd had sex, so I did a little bit of setting that up with the final scene in the last chapter and will expand it further here. For this one, since it's still a little too early on to get them into a bed, I opted to play with the shower scene instead and delay Tucker's kidnapping a little. On an additional note, since there was about a month between airdates from the last episode to this one, I decided to play with that too.

**Chapter 20-You're Spending The Weekend With Me.**

"Weekend"

"You're spending the weekend with me," Lee said with a cheeky grin.

Amanda chuckled nervously, Lee's words jolting her after his invitation to spend the night with him after their last encounter, "I'm spending the weekend with you?"

"It's not that kind of weekend," Lee said with a cheeky grin, although he was secretly hoping that it could be even though they'd be working. After all, they'd be sharing a hotel room in a ritzy resort.

"Oh, no, of course not. It wouldn't be that kind of weekend," she said nervously, her voice overlapping his as he said, "this is strictly business."

"Strictly business," She repeated, "Of course, it's strictly...strictly...what kind of business?"

"Agency business," Lee answered succinctly.

"Agency business...What else? It's gotta' be..."

A few minutes later, when packing, Amanda fidgeted nervously about the idea of spending an entire weekend with Lee at a "dressy" resort. She' been nervous enough when he'd asked her to spend a single night with him for fear of where it might lead. She already had a hard enough time keeping her hands off of him when they were together for even part of a day. What would happen during a whole weekend, work-related or not?

Amanda's nerves only became more frazzled on the drive up to the resort when Lee avoided the subject of what her job was and became even worse when his slipped the wedding set on her finger and said slowly in his low, husky voice, "This weekend, you're Mrs...Lee...Stetson," emphasizing each word as he looked at her with that undressing-her-with-his-eyes gaze that she knew all too well.

Through the course of the evening, her nerves became more frayed than a hand-knit sweater attacked by a housecat. Hearing the resort staff and Mr.s Craddock refer to her as Mrs. Stetson, his continually calling her "Darling," the wedding ring on her finger, his soft touches and kisses to her hand filling her with unease as she knew that they were going to be forced to share a room and possibly, a bed.

She mentally kicked herself for insinuating that they were honeymooners and now their cover role had become an even more intimate one that it had started out to be. She kept trying to calm down by telling herself that it was just a cover and she'd pretended to be his wife once before, but this time it was different. The prior one had been under an assumed name. Calling herself Mrs. Stetson, thought of the two of them being on their honeymoon conjured up way too many images of a future that she knew she could never have. While Lee was a skilled agent who could play any cover and make it convincing, she knew that that's all it was. The long, loving looks he'd been giving her, the endearments, his arm around her when they walked together were all part of the cover and when this assignment was over, he'd be back to treating her the same way that he always did until he had an itch that he couldn't scratch on his own. Her mother's warning of not settling for less than what she wanted haunted her.

When walking back to their room, Lee pondered the events of the day, wondering why Amanda was so nervous, so tense. They'd played husband and wife once before and had done it successfully. He thought they were carrying it off pretty well now, but Amanda, for some reason, looked like she was ready to jump out of her skin at any moment. He couldn't quite understand it. After Francine's lecture about Amanda having a crush on him and her bold visit to his apartment just a month ago when she'd purposely worn a sexy dress just for him, he would have thought that she'd get a big kick out of her cover assignment as his bride. He glanced at her briefly and wondered again about her divorce. Had it left her that scarred that she couldn't contemplate the idea of marriage again, not even a fake one.

As a door opened down the hall, her pulled her to him in an attempt to keep up their cover both nodding in greeting and saying hello to the passing couple. He smiled at her warmly, but was disturbed by only seeing a wary half-smile from her in return, a smile that didn't reach her deep, chocolate eyes. _What the hell is wrong with her?_ He thought, an eerie sense of foreboding filling him. That feeling only grew as they rounded the corner and she abruptly pulled herself from his grasp, sighing as she did so. he cleared his throat awkwardly as he unlocked the door to their room and gestured for her to enter, which she did, albeit reluctantly. Feeling the need to break the uncomfortable tension between them, he said, "Well, I think we carried that off pretty well," as he closed the door behind them, purposely brushing against her as he passed by on his way toward the bed.

"Oh yes, very well," Amanda agreed with a nervous chuckle, shifting uncomfortably as the burning embers within her continued to be fanned by his fleeting touch, her eyes inexorably drawn to their "honeymoon" bed.

"And I also think we were _very_ convincing," he said with a smile hoping that she would agree with him and see that cover assignment or not, they might be able to carry off a real relationship.

"Oh, yeah, we were very convincing," Amanda said still shifting her weight nervously on the balls of her feel while she gripped her clutch purse tightly. At hearing Lee's nervous laughter, she continued, "We convinced Mrs. Cradock and she's been married thirty years."

"Yeah, ha, ha," Lee said as he tossed his jacket onto the bed.

Amanda, seeing that Lee was getting undressed, shifted again and stammered, "uh...Well, I guess you plan to...Uh..." she gestured to the bed, wondering what was on his mind. What he expecting her to join him. The memory from a month ago of him attempting to carry her to his bed replaying again in her mind. Had it really been a month since he'd touched her in that way? She nodded toward the bed that she hadn't been able to stop staring at since entering the room.

"Uh, yeah, do you mind?" He answered awkwardly. "It's been a long day." He began to loosen his bowtie intending to get a quick nap before beginning surveillance on David Bosca.

"Oh, no, no, no, I know you must be...tired," Amanda answered wondering if that was all that was on his mind. He'd been shamelessly "playing their cover" and she couldn't help wondering if he was expecting her to take their cover all the way.

"Oh...tired," Lee concurred.

"Yeah," Amanda said. "Uh...but you probably do wanna' keep an eye on Mr. Bosca's room...or if you like...I could keep an eye on it." She felt a great need to stop thinking about their cover and what it could lead to, the idea of being his wife, the fact that he'd sprung in on her, and the tender way that he'd slipped the rings on her finger as a real groom would have, having thrown her for a loop. All of that combined with her mother's incessant probing about her "love affair" and her not-so-subtle hints about its future, had her reeling. She was desperately trying not to get caught up the fantasy that their cover had created.

"No, no, no, I'll keep an eye on it. They're not gonna' make a move on him while there's still so much activity around here. I just wanna' grab a couple hours of sleep."

"Well, you have to get your rest to do your job well," Amanda said, trying to remind both him and herself that this was a job, that she wasn't really his wife and never would be. She'd heard it too many times, loner, Casanova, Romeo, playboy, not the marrying kind...she'd heard through the agency grapevine that in the month since they'd last...he'd been making the rounds through the steno pool again.

Sensing her intense discomfort, Lee said, "Amanda," as he crossed the room, sighed then taking her hand in his, continued, "You know, you're not being compromised."

The tender touch sending electric shocks through her whole body was too much to bear, "I know that," she said smacking his hand away from her with the clutch she still held, knowing that if he didn't' stop touching her, she'd give into the fantasy of the honeymoon that she knew could never be a reality.

Lee, completely startled by her violence, looked at her in utter horror. What was going on? He'd touched her much more intimately than that many times and she always seemed to welcome it and in fact, had at times begged for more, so what was the big deal now? It wasn't as if he was trying to seduce her, not that he felt he'd have to if he wanted her. She'd been perfectly willing all on her own many times, so why was she acting like a blushing, virgin bride? _Bride, _he thought. Was that it? Was the idea of being his wife so abhorrent to her that she couldn't stand to let him touch her anymore?

Maybe it wasn't him, he thought. He knew that she'd repeatedly turned down proposals from the weatherman, even though he was, on paper, a great catch and he knew from all the time that he'd spent lurking outside her house that her mother had many times encouraged her to accept. Maybe it was just the idea of getting married again at all that was distasteful to her. He thought back to her words from a month ago when her reason for not spending the night with him was that her children already had to live without their father. That thought filled him with a renewed hatred for the mysterious, missing ex-husband that she never talked about, making him want to smash the guy's head into a wall. He shook his head, perturbed by the fact that a guy he'd never met and knew nothing about could bring out that of violent thought in him.

Amanda at seeing the hurt look on his face, stammered an apology and as their debate continued, she was startled herself when Lee brought up Francine. She shuddered a little at the image that conjured up in her mind. Long after he'd left in a huff, that image had stayed with her. She sank wearily to the bed, her mind whirling at the idea that had it not been for a toothache, it would be Francine here pretending to be his wife and a woman like Francine, she imagined would have no trouble at all, playing _all_ the parts of their cover. She shuddered at that notion, wondering if that's why Lee hadn't shown an interest in her in a month's time. She knew he'd once had a thing with Francine, courtesy of the rumor mill at the agency and wondered if they'd started up again after she'd refused his invitation to spend the night at his place. She shivered as she lay down on the bed, pulling the bedspread over her, wondering if that refusal had driven him back into Francine's arms.

Lee, in the cramped closet, across from Bosca's room, reflected on the events of the evening, still wondering what was up with Amanda. Why was she suddenly acting as he if were some vile Casanova? He couldn't understand it. He thought he'd made his feelings clear to her when he'd tried to get her to spend the night with him, when he'd teased her about their last night together being a "hot date." but she'd turned him down cold. He knew he had a bad reputation around the office, but he thought that he'd managed to convince her that his reputation wasn't all that it was cracked up to be. He really didn't sleep around the way that his co-workers seemed to think he did. Sure, he'd had probably more than his fair share of lovers, but not anywhere near the number that people seemed to think. The past month was a prime example. After Amanda's rejection, he'd begun prowling the steno pool, looking for a distraction since Amanda didn't seem willing to really date him, in spite of their mutual attraction. While he had taken out two or three different ladies, ladies that he knew wouldn't hesitate if he asked them to spend the night, the evening had always ended with him dropping them back off at home and with him going home alone, taking a cold shower and falling asleep fantasizing about the one woman he couldn't have. If he couldn't have Amanda in his bed, he didn't want anyone else there either.

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The next morning, Amanda awoke to the sound of the shower running. She climbed out of bed, tiptoed to the bathroom door, listening for a moment, her pulse racing at the thought that Lee was wet and naked just on the other side of it. She took a deep breath and decided to take a chance, consequences be damned. If he broke her heart, she'd deal with that when it happened. After a month without him, she couldn't stand it anymore. she kicked off her heels and quickly undressed, opening the door as quietly as she could, closing it behind her. Her breath caught in her throat as his bare body silhouetted against the steam-covered glass doors. She took a deep, shuddering breath and padded across the room, opening the door and stepping in behind him, sliding her hands up his bare back, lightly finger the scar from the knife wound that Russell Sinclair had left behind. She placed a soft kiss to the puckered skin there.

Lee gasped at the tender touch of Amanda's lips to his skin, her hands on his back, softly caressing him. He turned to face her and softly whispered, "Good morning, Mrs. Stetson," before capturing her lips with his own in a fiery kiss as he slid his hands to her slender waist, pulling her close to him. A month of not having her had been driving him mad with desire for her. He pressed her back against the wall while he ravaged her mouth with his own, his hands touching her anywhere that he could reach, relishing her eager response and the savage moans her heard emanating from deep in her throat.

Amanda felt herself coming alive again under Lee's kiss, her need for him only escalating as they kissed and touched each other, her desire for him pumping through her, delighting in her response to her. Her fierce passion for him overrode all common sense as she pushed aside the thought that he'd most likely been sleeping with someone else in the month since they'd been together. She found that she couldn't care about that right now. All she cared about was having him again. She gripped his bottom firmly as he ground against her, his obvious arousal only further fueling her own, her heart pounding as his hands seemed to be everywhere all at once. Desperately needing air, she pulled her mouth from his gulping down much-needed oxygen while Lee used the moment to lower his lips to her neck, suckling her tender skin, spurring her on. "Lee," she sighed as his hand found her center, slipping one finger into her while he caressed her with his thumb, her body alight with a flurry of sensations all at once. "Lee," she choked out again through her rapid breathing as she reached down to take his erection in her hand, caressing him in long, slow strokes.

Lee groaned against her wet skin, hearing her whispering his name, her heavy breathing in his ear, her hand on his shaft, only increasing his dire need for her. He increased the pressure with his thumb, inserting another finger in her, wanting to hear her not just whispering his name, but screaming it out as she had in the past. He knew her body so well now; knew what would bring her over the edge and he was soon rewarded for his efforts.

"LEE!" she shrieked as her climax overwhelmed her. She released her grip on him and clung tightly to his shoulders, burying her face in his chest and hanging on for dear life as her knees threatened to buckle beneath her at the intensity of it, her body trembling against his.

Lee raised his head and with his free hand, lifted her chin, saying, "Amanda, look at me." When her passion-filled gaze met his own, he removed his other hand from her, using it to lift her leg up onto his hip as he slowly pushed into her, watching her facial expression change as he immersed himself in her, emitting a low groan as he did so, while Amanda gasped.

They stayed like that for just a moment, gazing into each other's eyes, their heavy breathing and the running water the only sounds in the room. Finally, Amanda said, "Lee, please don't tease me." as she pushed her back against the slick shower wall in an attempt to push him deeper into her, desperately needing that connection.

Lee, upon seeing the hunger in her eyes, hearing her frantic pleading, complied with her wishes, tugging at her bottom to push deeper into her, as he once again lowered his mouth to her neck, lapping at the droplets of water on her skin.

"Oh, Lee," Amanda cried as she locked her legs around him, her arms around his neck. She rained kisses on his face, his neck, and his shoulder while he gripped her bottom tightly to hold her steady while he pounded into her, fulfilling the craving that had been festering for a month.

Lee felt himself giving way all too soon, "Can't...hold...on..." he panted as the feeling of being inside her again took him over and he soon felt himself exploding, crying out her name as he emptied himself into her.

"LEE!'She cried again as he shook against her, his guttural cries of pleasure only increasing her own as he continued to push into her until there was nothing left to do except ride out the wave.

Lee stilled his movements, but didn't withdraw from her. Instead he pulled his head back to look at her and seeing something in her eyes that he couldn't quite identify, he began, "Amanda, I..." He broke off at seeing the expectant look in her eyes and unable to continue, just kissed her softly trying to convey in that kiss, just how much he felt for her. He pulled back, released his grip on her, gently lowering her feel back to the shower's floor.

"You...?" Amanda probed wondering what he'd been about to say.

"I...Um...I'm sorry. I...uh...don't normally...um you know...that quickly...it...it's been a month and I..." he stammered nervously.

"It has?" Amanda said her thoughts racing again as she wondered if that meant the last time for him had been with her.

"Yeah," he admitted sheepishly. "You should know. You were there."

"Oh," Amanda said, her heart leaping at the thought that he maybe the rumors at work were unfounded. "You mean, you..um...you haven't...with...um...anyone else...I mean."

"No," Lee said honestly.

"But what about Francine?"Amanda inquired.

"What about her?"Lee said thoroughly confused. What did Francine have to do with this, he wondered.

"Oh, well, you...um...last night you said that if Francine had come along..." Her voice trailed off wondering if Francine would be the one in his arms right now if it hadn't been for her dental problems.

"Oh, that," Lee said realization dawning, a slight smile crossing his face at the idea that Amanda seemed a little jealous of Francine. "I...um...I didn't mean that Francine and I were...or that we would..." He sighed. "Francine and I have a history, that's all. I know that with Francine here, the accommodations...or lack thereof...wouldn't have been an issue. My thing with her was over a long time ago and we're just friends now...well, sort of...I...I just know that it wouldn't have been a problem if I had to share a bed with her because there's nothing there anymore... not that there really was to begin with."

"Oh," Amanda said breathing a sigh of relief. "Good."

"You know, I...um...need to..." He nodded toward the showerhead.

"Yeah, I should...uh...let you finish your shower," Amanda said smiling at the knowledge that she was the only woman he'd been sleeping with as she slipped out of the shower reaching for a towel, wrapping it snugly around herself, then making her way out of the bathroom and began to get dressed.

After she'd left, Lee turned back to the shower to resume cleaning himself up and was amused a few minutes later to hear Amanda yelling at him to get out of the shower, wondering if she was after more already.

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Amanda stood quietly for the most part throughout their conversation with Valerie Tucker, not at all liking the way she was leering at her "husband" or staring her down as if she were a fly that needed to be swatted. She just smiled sweetly at the memory of Lee's hands all over her in the shower and knew this vacuous tart would never have a chance.

Lee, still trying to play his cover of devoted husband, had deflected all of Mrs. Tucker's obvious attempts to be seductive, reminding her repeatedly in his suggestions of all of them getting together, that he was there with his "wife."

After she'd departed, he turned to Amanda and said, "Alright, follow her and try not to be..."

"Conspicuous," Amanda finished for him.

"Yes," Lee confirmed. "I'll search for Tucker."

"You sure you don't wanna' follow her?" Amanda quipped dryly with a knowing smile.

"Sweetheart," Lee cooed with a hand on her arm grinning at her broadly as the memories of their time in the shower together flooded through him. "We're newlyweds."

"I know," she said smiling back at him before they took off in opposite directions.

Lee shook his head, wondering with all the fire in her what it would be like if her really was married to her and could experience that fire on a regular basis.

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As Amana entered the kitchen preparing to feed her family, she heard a rattling at the back door. She turned to see Lee peeking in the door, saying, "Amanda, is the coast clear?" Without waiting for a response, he walked in meeting her halfway as she crossed the kitchen.

"No, the coast isn't clear," Amanda said stopping him from walking further into the house. "Mother and the boys are upstairs," she added, a hint of panic in her voice. The last thing she needed was for her mother to walk in and find him there after all her endless questions about who her "mystery lover" was.

"Ah," Lee said with a nod.

"I thought you left," Amanda said though she had to admit that she wasn't unhappy to see him.

"Well, I...uh...I...did," he said stumbling over his words as he tried to figure out how to tell her what he wanted to tell her. Playing her husband for the weekend, hearing her being called Mrs. Stetson, had opened up his eyes to a whole new world of possibilities, "But I came back."

"Oh," Amanda said with a nod, hope burgeoning within her.

"Yeah," He said. After a beat, Lee said, "you forgot your toothbrush," as he held it up.

Amanda smiled and chuckled slightly as she took it from him. "You know...uh...that's...um...a pretty flimsy excuse to come back," she teased. "Are you sure there wasn't another reason? I mean, you could have given it back to me at work tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah...I guess I could have, but I...you know...I thought you might need it before then."

"Oh, no, you're right...I...um...might need it...before then," she said, her smile widening knowing that neither of them was talking about the toothbrush anymore.

Lee stepped closer to her, leaning in for a kiss, but before his lips could connect with hers, Dotty's voice rang out, "Oh, it feels so good to wear normal clothes again."

"Crap," Lee growled as he hurried out the back door just as Dotty entered the room.

Dotty, having caught just the tiniest glimpse of Lee's retreating form, said with an arched eyebrow, "So, is that him?"

Amanda smiled innocently and said, "Is that who, Mother


	21. A Man Like That

Author's Note: Okay, so once again, I'm using the gap between airdates to my advantage. This one was a little difficult when planning this out to find a spot to insert a love scene, but I decided to use the evening scene at Amanda's house when Dotty is grilling Amanda about her lunch with the princess and have Lee doing his typical lurking outside her house at the time. I hope you all enjoy.

**Chapter 21-A Man Like That**

"Waiting For Godorsky"

After their visit to the estate sale, Dotty and Amanda were wasting the dinner dishes while they theorized about what had led the lovely woman they'd met to sell her prized belongings, Dotty assuming that her husband had left her, while Amanda, being more optimistic guessed that she was a widow.

Another disturbing thought crossed Amanda's mind, "Mother, you think she gets enough to eat?"

"I wouldn't' count on it. I'm telling you, Amanda, whatever happened to that man of hers, whether he left her or whether he's dead, he still left her in quite the mess. I mean, if you looked at that portrait of him, you can just tell by that expression on his face that he's not the type of man to look after her needs."

"I don't know, Mother," Amanda said.

"Speaking of men..."Dotty said. Amanda sighed, knowing what was coming. "How are things going with your man? Is he still taking care of your...um...needs."

"Mother," Amanda said sighing again in exasperation.

"What? I'm just asking, I mean, after I caught a glimpse of him, leaving here a couple of weeks ago, I haven't heard you talking about him."

"Mother, I don't talk about him anyway, you know that," Amanda reminded her.

"I was just curious if the sizzle had turned into a fizzle," Dotty said.

"No, it hasn't," Amanda said though she had to wonder herself. Three weeks had passed since the weekend they'd posed as newlyweds and while they'd seen each other at work during the past week, they hadn't had any personal interaction since their frenzied coupling in the shower at the Cumberland. Being without him for that long had her climbing the walls and she'd found herself repeatedly looking out the kitchen window or the back door and she knew her mother had noticed.

"So, then why haven't I seen him around lately?" Dotty inquired.

"Mother, you've never even really seen him at all," Amanda pointed out.

"And that's just one of the many questions I have," Dotty said her voice rising. "I mean, he obviously knows where you live, but he never knocks on the front door to pick you up for a date..."

"That's because we're not dating," Amanda interjected.

"...he's never been to dinner..."

"He's never been_ invited_ to dinner," Amanda replied.

"...He's never met your children..." Dotty continued ignoring her daughter's insertions into her tirade.

"I don't want him to meet the boys," Amanda said.

"Why ever not?"Dotty asked thoroughly confused. "If you're in a serious enough relationship with this man that you've been sleeping with him for going on a year now, why shouldn't he meet your children?"

"I'm _not _in a serious relationship with him," Amanda protested. "We...we just work together...and once in a while...we..."

"...Play together," Dotty finished for her amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Exactly," Amanda said wondering when she and Lee would have time to "play together" again. Lee had been on an out-of-town assignment under zero contact for first two of the past three weeks and not hearing from him during that time and not having been alone with him since he'd been back was making her edgy.

"Come on, Amanda, I can tell something's been going on. You've been walking around here like a lovesick schoolgirl for at least two weeks now and don't think I haven't noticed how you keep peeking out the back door as if you're looking for him."

"Mother, that's ridiculous," Amanda protested, but she knew it was true. She _had_ been looking for him.

"Is it? You've obviously been pining for him. What's the matter? Has he lost interest? You know, I did warn you that these burning passions don't usually last," Dotty said. "To be honest, I'm surprised that it lasted as long as it did."

"No, Mother, he hasn't lost interest," Amanda answered. "At least, I don't think he has. He was out of town on a job for two weeks and he's only been back for a week and..."

"He's left you feeling frisky?" Dotty suggested, amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Mother," Amanda said with a roll of her eyes.

"Okay, maybe you prefer the word horny?'

"Mother!'Amanda said louder this time shocked at her mother's bluntness.

"Hmm...Randy, perhaps?" Dotty teased.

"Stop," Amanda said.

"Lusty?" Dotty said thoroughly enjoying the embarrassed look on her daughter's face.

"Stop," Amanda repeated more forcefully.

"Okay, okay, how about a gentler word? Amorous, maybe?"

"Would you stop already," Amanda pleaded with her mother.

"Oh, alright, but you're not fooling me a bit, my darling daughter. Whether you want to admit it or not, you _have_ been pining for this man. That tells me quite clearly that this little affair has become much more than that. You've very obviously in love with him."

"No, Mother, you're wrong," Amanda denied as she cast yet another glance to the back door.

"Uh-huh," Dotty said disbelievingly, her daughter's attention to the back door not escaping her notice. She sighed and decided to take a different tack, "So, if you won't invite him to dinner, couldn't you at least tell me his name?"

"No," Amanda said with a firm nod.

"For heaven's sake, why not? Would it be so wrong for me to know the name of the man that my daughter is having a wild, passionate love affair with?"

"Yes, it would be because I know you. The second you know his name, you'll start working up in your mind how my name would sound with his and mentally printing up wedding invitations." As the words were out of her mouth, a deep sense of sadness overtook her at the memory of the short time that she'd been Mrs. Lee Stetson for their cover assignment.

"Oh, Amanda, don't be ridiculous," Dotty argued. "If you say it's not serious, it's not serious."

"It's not," Amanda said. "So, why do you think that woman was selling off all those beautiful things," she asked in a desperate attempt to change the subject.

Dotty glanced at her daughter, a pang of sadness hitting her at the longing look in her daughter's eyes, hoping that this man that she was so taken with wasn't on the verge of breaking her heart.

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After averting the assassination attempt at the luncheon with the princess, Lee once again found himself lurking in Amanda's back yard, looking for any excuse just to catch a glimpse of her again. He cautiously peered in through the French doors to see Amanda sitting across from her mother who was pumping her for information about what had happened at lunch. He chuckled and said, "Damn, she'd make a hell of an interrogator," as he watched and listened to Amanda expertly dodging her mother's inquiries. She was turning out to be quite the good spy, not that he'd ever give her the satisfaction of saying that to her. He lingered there long after the two women had gone upstairs, waiting patiently, knowing just by his habit of watching her house, that Amanda would eventually return to the lower level of the house as she hadn't turned out the lights.

He wandered through the yard, and then stopped to lean against the picnic table, reflecting on the time that Amanda had forcefully knocked him backward on top of it and had her way with him. That thought became a painful reminder that he'd been without her for three weeks and hadn't been alone with her until Billy had called her into the office to discuss her transcripts. Even that was strictly work-related. His mind wandered to her words to Billy, _sometimes what people don't say is a lot more revealing that what they do say. _Boy was that ever true of the two of them. They never said what they felt for each other, never put a label on what the nature of their relationship was, but yet there was still this unspoken communication between them that spoke volumes, revealing to him that, while she may not admit it, Amanda was just as drawn in by him as he was by her. He just wished he knew how deeply.

Lee was pulled out or his reverie by the sound of the back door clicking shut and looked up to find Amanda approaching him dressed for bed. "Hi," he said with a warm smile.

"Hi," she returned his greeting.

"How'd you know I was out here," Lee said.

"I didn't...I just..." her voice trailed off. She didn't want to reveal to him that she'd been looking for him every night since his mystery trip had begun three weeks ago. She walked past the picnic table her back to him, away from the back porch light and stepped into the darkness of the yard, knowing that if she didn't, her feelings would show on her face.

Lee didn't hesitate for a moment, quickly bolting from his perch on the table, he slipped his arms around her from behind, untied the belt on her robe then peeled it off her shoulders. Amanda turned to face him and wordlessly they moved into each other's arms, kissing feverishly, their hands roaming, as they moaned and ground against each other, their unspoken need for one another driving both of them.

Lee broke their heated kiss, tugged at the hem of her cotton gown, pulled it over her head, spread it out on the grass and began to kiss her again as he lowered her to lie atop it, hovering above her while she worked the buttons of his shirt loose. Still no words were spoken between them; none were needed as they lay locked together holding each other tightly as they kissed and caressed each other, taking their time to renew their acquaintance.

Lee sighed as Amanda pushed his shirt off his shoulders and began running her hands over his chest, finally resting with one thumb against each nipple, teasing them into hardness the same way her kisses were making the rest of him hard. He'd never imagined before meeting that just kissing a woman could create and instant hard-on like that. In fact, he'd never been that big on kissing anyway, except as a preamble to lead to other things. He found it too personal, too intimate for his normally casual encounters. With Amanda, everything was different, he found himself with an uncontrollable desire to kiss her as often as he could. There had been so many times over the last week at the office when he'd wanted to just grab her, pull her into an empty office and kiss her until they were both breathless.

Amanda shivered beneath Lee as his kisses and touches turned her to jelly the way that they always did, once again filling her with raw need for him. She'd never been with a man who could fill her with that much desire with just a simple touch or kiss. While she often protested her mother's insistence that she needed to be settled, needed to make this relationship a more permanent one, she found that she was just happy to take whatever Lee was willing to give her, whenever he was willing to give it to her. She'd rather have him for a fleeting moment than not have him at all.

She knew all too well that he guarded his heart more fiercely than he guarded national security, so the fact that he was here in her arms now and that it was obvious that he'd come here just to see her made her heart swell with overwhelming love for him. She was long past denying to herself that she was helplessly in love with him. The fact that she'd been drifting to the back door multiple times a day for the past three weeks, that her mind kept reliving their undercover weekend together as newlyweds and how he'd made her feel when he'd called her "Mrs. Stetson" even when they were alone, screamed to her that she could no longer tamp those feelings down. She knew it was foolish to fantasize about it because it would never happen, but she couldn't help thinking about what it might be like if she really was his wife. Her conversation with her mother about wedding invitations replayed briefly in her mind until those thoughts were abruptly halted by Lee's touch, filling her mind with only thoughts of him and how he made her feel.

Lee moaned as he felt Amanda running her hands down his bare back, her fingernails grazing his skin, shooting electric shocks through him. He pulled his mouth from hers and lowered his lips to her neck, nipping at the tender skin just below her ear while he cupped a breast in one hand, his other sliding down her torso to grasp her hip as he pushed against her with his hips, mimicking the action he so desperately craved. Not being able to contact her for two weeks while on assignment out of the country, seeing her again had made him nearly jump out of his skin with yearning for her.

He smiled internally at the memory of them arriving at the luncheon today, her arm linked with his, as if he were her date. They'd played it off that way so that the princess wouldn't know that he was there to protect her. He had rather liked the idea of being her date. He knew in reality that while it was obvious that she very much enjoyed their physical interactions, she'd never lower herself to be seen in public with him on a real date. Maybe someday if he could get her to trust him enough on a personal level to convince her that a lot of his bad reputation had been highly exaggerated by the rumor mill at the agency, he'd be able to have that with her. For now, though, he was content simply to take what she was willing to give him and boy, was she ever giving.

Amanda smiled up at Lee as he pulled back for a moment to look at her and she saw the fierce desire in his eyes even in the darkness of the back yard. Her senses heightened by the look in his eyes, the scent of his cologne above her combined with the scent of the freshly-mown grass beneath her, his weight on top of her, his hands on her bare skin, only increasing her deep ache for him. She slipped her hand between them to open his jeans, pushing on them to free him from the tight denim's constraints. Neither spoke as he lifted himself from her just long enough to toe off his shoes and finish the job she'd begun, dropping his jeans and boxers and kicking them aside, then reaching for her to slide her panties down her legs, leaving no more barriers between them as he lowered himself back down to her. Amanda gasped as he trailed kisses down her chest, her stomach, placing a kiss to each hip before moving even lower to capture her already swollen bud in his mouth, suckling at her firmly, his talented lips and tongue working her into a frenzy. "Lee,' she moaned, the first word to escape her lips since they'd begun as she cradled his head against her, her fingers sliding through his fine, silky hair while he consumed her.

Lee sighed in contentment at hearing his own name on her lips, knowing that she was thinking solely about fact that she hadn't protested when he'd removed her robe from her, flooded him with renewed love for her at her willingness to accept him as he was and not try to change him as other women had. He knew without a doubt that he was so besotted with her that there'd never be another woman who could satisfy him the way that she did, but he knew that things could never progress between them beyond what they already had. He didn't fit into her world of bake sales and PTA meetings. Therefore, he'd make himself be happy with occasionally bringing her into his world of spies and lies, just for a few moments in her presence. He continued his worship of her body with his mouth, inhaling her scent as he sucked and nipped at her, lapping at the wetness he'd created in her until he heard her cries of release, felt her tensing and wriggling under his onslaught, smugly satisfied that he was the cause of it. Before her violent trembling subsided, he slid his body up the length of hers and guided himself into her wetness, then clasped both of her hands, linking his fingers with hers, "Amanda,' he whispered softly as he gazed longingly into her eyes for a long beat before beginning the oldest dance of all time.

Amanda, still gasping for breath in the aftermath of her climax, moaned loudly at the feeling of Lee's hardness within her, his fingers tightly clasped with hers, his eyes locked with hers. She lifted her hips against his, raising her knees to open herself further to him, needing to take in all of him as deeply as she could and she was not disappointed when he took her hint and pushed into her again, filling her completely. "Oh, I missed this," she whispered in a throaty voice, barely able to get the words out through her heavy breathing.

"I missed it too," Lee replied in a harsh whisper, her raspy voice further driving him to complete their union as he increased the pace, pumping into her harder as she met him thrust for thrust, the rhythm never broken. While their lives may not fit together, this was one area in which they fit together perfectly, both knowing without saying a word what the other one needed.

"Lee," Amanda sighed again at the increased pace of their lovemaking. She knew their lives would never mesh, but this, their unspoken desire for each other, the way that they completed each other, this was where they meshed flawlessly. She clenched her fingers tighter with his as her second climax of the night overtook her and she hissed out his name, writhing beneath him as the waves of pleasure ripped through her.

"Amanda," Lee growled in response to feeling her once again shaking and gasping under him, her violent tremors bringing him to his own long-anticipated release as he continued ed to move within her, filling her with his warm seed, shaking above her every bit as much as she was shaking beneath him. Once spent, he collapsed wearily on top of her, pressing soft kisses against her temple, her face, her neck and shoulders. "I...missed...you," he whispered softly into her ear through his ragged breathing.

Amanda released her grip on his hands, cradled his head to her and replied, "I missed you, too." Happy tears stung her eyes at hearing him say the words she'd been longing to spit out, elated that he'd said it first, sated not only by their lovemaking but also by just having him here, his breath against her skin as he lavished her with kisses, his body pinning her to the ground with his reassuring weight. She knew the moment couldn't last, but she clasped him tightly all the same wanting to savor it for as long as possible. She returned his fervent kisses, pressing her lips to his face and neck and felt content just holding him.

The moment was not to last as they soon were interrupted by the sound of Dotty's voice from through the open kitchen window, calling her daughter's name. Lee abruptly rolled away from her, quickly scrambling for his discarded clothing, mentally cursing her mother for her bad timing.

"I'll be there in a minute, Mother!" Amanda called as she pulled her nightgown over her head then reached for her discarded underwear and her robe.

"Amanda, what on earth are you doing outside?" Dotty called, her voice closer than it had been.

"Shit," Lee growled, as he was still half-dressed. At seeing Amanda once again in her modest cotton gown, he couldn't resist teasing her. "Do you always wear those? What happened to the sexy nightgowns?"

"Go on, get outta' here before she sees you," Amanda said giving him a shove toward the back gate as she pulled her robe on.

"Amanda?"Dotty called as she opened the back door, just as Lee skittered through the gate, his shirt and shoes still in his hands, while Amanda hastily shoved her panties into the pocket of her robe and hurried to cut off her mother's path before she could catch sight of Lee's retreat.

"Yes, Mother?"Amanda replied as she met her on the patio.

"Amanda, what are you doing out here?" Without giving her a chance to answer, she added, "No, never mind, I know what you're doing out here. You're looking for _him_ again."

"No, not at all," Amanda said with a smile, "Just catching a breath of fresh air before locking up for the night."

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Dotty's eyes widened as Amanda showed her the medal given to her by the princess. "Wow. Imagine, you being given a commendation by a princess," she gushed.

"I know and I...well, I just wanted to share it with you since I'd never have met her in the first place if you hadn't insisted that we go to her estate sale." She smiled brightly as she thought of the events of earlier in the day when Lee had held her hands and complemented her work and later how he'd linked his arm with hers as if it were natural to do so just before they'd accepted their awards.

"Well, as I always say, everything happens for a reason," Dotty said. "Oh, speaking of which, maybe you could explain something to me," she added as she made her way to the laundry room indicating for Amanda to follow her.

"What is it, Mother?" Amanda asked.

Dotty reached into the laundry basket sitting atop the dryer, pulled a garment from it and held it up for her to see. "Well, I was wondering just what the reason is that there are grass stains on the back of your nightgown," she said with a knowing grin. When Amanda blushed furiously, she said, "So, I'm guessing that you're not feeling...um...amorous...anymore."

"Oh, Mother, really," Amanda said as she snatched her nightgown from her mother's hands.

"Is that what you were doing in the back yard the other night? Is that why the flowerbeds are always destroyed and why you are obsessed by the back yard? Is that where you and your mysterious suitor...play together? If so, I have to say that I'm a little disappointed. A man like that who'd just take what he wants in the back yard of all places..."

"Here, Mother, I want you to have this," Amanda said handing her the medal in an attempt to change the subject.

Dotty took it from her, but was not mollified by it. "Oh, no you don't. You're not changing the subject, not this time. I asked you a question that I would like an answer to."

"Actually, you asked me several questions, Mother, which one would you like me to answer?"

"All of them," Dotty answered without missing a beat.

"Okay, yes, that's what we were doing in the back yard the other night, no, that's not why the flower beds are always destroyed, As for playing in the back yard, no, that's only happened twice and for the record, I _don't_ have an obsession with the back yard."

"Hmmm, you're probably right about that one. Your obsession is not with the yard, but the man who likes to sneak into it."

"Mother..."

"Don't even try to deny it. The day that I caught that brief little peek at him, he was sneaking out the back door into the yard, you snuck out the back to meet him the other night and don't think that I haven't noticed how you're always stealing little looks at the back door. Besides that, I've heard from Mrs. Gilstrap that she's seen a tall man slipping in and out of our yard on several occasions."

"Oh, well, you know how Mrs. Gilstrap is, she's always looking for something to gossip about and you know she's not the most reliable witness."

"Yes, but in this case, I think she's right. I just wonder what it is about your relationship with this man, that you feel you have to hide it." A horrible thought struck her just then, "Oh, God, he's not married, is he?"

"No, Mother, he's single," Amanda said. _As single as they come, _she thought with a pang of sadness that it was very likely that he'd stay that way forever.

"Oh, Good, then maybe there's some hope for you future," Dotty said with a smile. "Of course, it's not really any of my business. I mean, it _is_ your life, after all."

"Of course," Amanda replied sarcastically, knowing that her mother would never let it be just her life until she once again had a ring on her finger. She sighed at that thought as it stuck her that the one man she'd want that with would never want it himself, so she'd just continue what she was doing against her mother's advice. She'd settle for what she could get instead of worrying about what she couldn't.


	22. Nothing to Wear

**Chapter 22-Nothing to Wear**

"To Catch a Mongoose"

After hours of shopping, Lee opened the door of Amanda's hotel room for her as he hands were full.

"Thank you," she said as he held the door open for her, but was surprised when he followed her in. "What are you doing?"

"You'll need this for tonight," he said indicating the dress box that he'd been carrying for her for the better part of the afternoon tucked under his arm as he used his free hand to close the door behind them.

"Oh, right," She said as she watched him cross the room and drop the box on the bed, the tension between them thicker than the London fog, their meeting at the airport, the first time that they'd been face to face in two months since he'd been on this assignment to track down The Mongoose. "Thank you," she said again awkwardly. When Billy had given her the assignment to meet Lee in London to indentify her old high school classmate, she'd been elated at the thought of seeing him again after such a long absence, broken up by only a handful of late night phone calls to tell her that he was safe and alive. After the way her marriage had ended, she'd learned the hard way that absence did _not_ make the heart grow fonder, so she'd been thoroughly surprised by the fact that the longer Lee was gone, the more she longed for him, belying that thought. The way that he'd seemed irritated with her after leaving the airport though, she felt that in his case that was not true.

"Unless, you'd rather wear this," Lee teased as he pulled the sparkly bustier out of the carry-on bag that she'd grabbed by mistake holding it up to his chest suggestively.

"Give me that," She said snatching it from his hand and shoving it back into the bag belonging to Trixie Berlinger.

Lee chuckled, grabbed it out of the bag again, this time hold it up against her chest, one hand on each of her shoulders. "Are you sure? Like I said earlier, could be a whole new you."

Amanda trembled his electric touch sending shocks through her and backed away slightly, once again ripping the offending garment from his hand. "I think I'll stick with the old me, thanks," Amanda said as she stuffed the bustier back in the bag, then crossed the room to dump it in the closet.

Lee sighed at his attempt at humor to lighten the mood fell flat. He ran a hand through his hair as he wondered how things had gotten so tense between them so quickly. He'd been so excited to see her at the airport after a two-month hiatus; the Mongoose case dragging on longer than anyone thought it would as the guy cut a swath across the UK. "So, would that be the old you from when you were still married and wore sexy nightgowns?" he said, a teasing lilt in his voice as he tried again. He knew he'd been a little short with her on the trip from the airport, but he was just so thrown by seeing her again and by the fact that she was so rattled by her luggage mishap that she didn't seem happy to see him in the slightest, the way that he was happy to see her.

"I haven't worn a sexy nightgown in years," Amanda said as she slammed the closet door and turned to face him, wondering just what he was up to. He'd treated her like an intrusion upon fining out that she was the one who knew Connie Barnhill. Now it was if he were trying to seduce her with his words, his warm honeyed voice pouring over her like sweet, thick maple syrup over her homemade pancakes, complementing her deep longing for him the way the syrup did the pancakes.

"No?" Lee said in his low, husky voice, his two-month long yearning for her lying just beneath the surface. He knew that was what had really caused the edge in his voice when they'd been on the bus.

"No, I don't even own one anymore," Amanda said.

"Hmm," Lee said. "Maybe you should. In fact, maybe you should have bought one when we were shopping."

"What would I need one for? I mean, it's not as if I'd have anyone special to wear it for," she fired back unwilling to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much she'd missed him when he'd gone back to treating her like a nuisance over her lost luggage.

"Oh, is that right? So, _nobody_ special in your life," Lee said quietly as he tried to hide the hurt from showing on his face.

"No, no one," she said firmly determined not to let him see how much his absence had left her pining for him, but found she couldn't resist getting in another little dig, "I thought there might be someone a while back, but I learned very quickly that that wasn't going to ever lead anywhere."

"I see," Lee said in a clipped tone clenching his jaw tightly at the idea that she'd been seeing someone while he'd been gone. "So, who is this guy?"

Amanda smiled at the fact that Lee had clearly missed that she'd been talking about him and said, "Oh, no one you'd know. Although, you never know what might happen tonight. You know, I think Connie used to have a little crush on me when we were in school, so you just never know."

"Amanda, you can't be serious," Lee retorted hotly. "We're talking about an international hit man here."

"I don't believe that," Amanda said. "I will never believe that my Connie Barnhill is capable of all those terrible things that you say he's done. I think you're making a mistake."

"Well, if I am, that's my job to worry about. Your job is simply to point him out to me."

"Well, if we're going to that casino tonight, I should really get showered and changed," she said as she reached for the dress box on the bed and shooed him toward the door.

"You sure you wouldn't like some company in that shower? You know after all the shopping we did today, I could use one too," he said with a grin at her trying to get back into her good graces. Just as she was lifting the cover from the box, he slid his arms to her waist from behind, and then whispered in her ear, "And it would save time."

Amanda shrugged him off, saying, "Nothing about that idea would save time." She then turned to him and pushed firmly on his chest and said, "Now, go shower in your own room."

"Fine," Lee said with a sullen pout. "But be ready no later than an hour and a half from now. I'll be back to pick you up."

She nodded as he made his way to the door, turned back to her evening dress, extracting it from the layers of tissue paper, and then walked to the closet to grab a hanger for it. She admired the new addition to her wardrobe for a moment, before stripping out of her clothes that were now sticking uncomfortably to her skin after the lone plane ride, hours of shopping and the warmth that Lee had created in her. She padded barefoot to the bathroom, turned the water on and stepped under the hot spray, reflecting Lee's attempt to invite himself into it with her, flooding her mind with memories of the last time they'd shared a shower as she reached for a washcloth and lathered it up. She vividly recalled how he'd whispered, "Good morning, Mrs. Stetson," before he'd pinned her against the shower wall with his hard body.

Those thoughts filled her with a wetness that had nothing to do with her shower as she found her hand, seemingly of its own accord drifting lower to the juncture between her legs where Lee had set her on fire with his mouth in her back yard when he'd tenderly made love to her. She let out a sigh, one hand on her breast as she touched herself with the other, wishing it were Lee's hands on her. She imagined him whispering to her in that low, sexy voice of his while he caressed her intimately, soon finding herself shaking and calling out his name as her climac hit her. She braced one hand against the cool tile to steady herself until her tremors subsided. She sighed as she thought that it wasn't nearly the same, but maybe at least by having given herself a physical release, she'd be able to resist his attempts to draw her in again.

Lee sighed in frustration as he entered his room, slamming the door behind him. "God, you're an idiot!"he said aloud. He hadn't seen Amanda in two months and what had he done? Instead of acting happy to see her, he'd been snippy with her, acting as if her lost luggage was no big deal and that she didn't have a right to be perturbed by it, treating her as if she were an annoyance to him. In reality, he'd wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and let her know just how much he missed her.

He sighed again as she crossed to the closet yanking his tuxedo from it and laying it across the bed as he began to strip to get a quick shower before picking her up for their "date" with The Mongoose. He cursed himself as his blatant attempt to seduce his way back into her good graces, even going as far as to invite himself into her shower. "Stupid," he muttered as he stepped under the spray of the hot water, thinking instead that he ought to be taking a cold shower to ease the ache he felt for the woman who'd unknowingly captured his heart. As he ran a washcloth across his skin, he couldn't help but remember all the times he'd had Amanda's hands on him, her mouth on him, teasing him. His mind wandered to the night they'd had "dessert" in his apartment, not once, but twice. He found himself growing hard at the memory of her mouth on him, her lips and tongue bringing out the most primal urge in him as she'd sucked him dry. Before he even knew what was happening, he found himself groaning as he stroked himself with his hand as he relived the memory, imagining that the lather from the soap and the pressure of his hand was Amanda's warm, wet mouth on him. When his release hit him, he collapsed against the shower wall shaking and breathing heavily, "It's not the same," he mumbled. While it took care of the immediate physical need, it didn't touch the raw need he felt to be close to her again.

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Later that night, Amanda, her arm around him for support, led Lee back to his room after his near strangling. She'd insisted on looking after him to make sure that he was safe, but still couldn't believe that Conrad was capable of such a violent act. She felt increasing warmth invading her senses with his arm draped across her shoulders as they entered his hotel room. "Come on, let's get you settled," Amanda said in concern as she gently nudged him toward the sofa in the room, kicking the door closed behind them.

"Amanda, I'm fine," he choked out through his still-raw throat as he tried to wriggle out of her grasp, her closeness too much to bear as the dress she wore exposed a good portion of her upper back.

Amanda, unrelenting, countered, "Well, we're just going to make sure," as she kept her grip on him and pushed him to sit on the sofa, then turned on the table lamp beside it. "I wanna' get a good look at your throat." She was glad that he'd already removed his bowtie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his shirt. She tugged at his collar to expose his throat further, running her fingers gently across the bruises that had already started to form there.

"Amanda, stop," Lee protested as he pulled her hands from him, clasping them firmly in his own. "I don't need mothering!" Truth be told, what he really didn't need was her touching him so tenderly. Her long, nimble fingers on his bare skin had sent electric shocks through his whole body that had sent him reeling.

"Okay, fine," Amanda said yanking her hands from his. "I'll...uh...just go back to my own room then." She picked up her fallen purse and made her way to the door, but was stopped by Lee's hand on her arm.

"Wait, Amanda," Lee said feeling sorry that he'd hurt again. He'd seen the brief flicker of pain in her eyes at the harshness of his words.

"Why?" Amanda said turning to face him. "If you don't need me, you don't need me."

"I do..." Lee stopped unable to complete the sentence. Why couldn't she see just how much he did need her? "I...uh...I mean, it's important to me that you care enough to look after me." _God, you're stupid, _he berated himself. _What the hell kind of apology is that? _

Amanda seeing the contrition in his eyes combined with...something else that she couldn't quite identify forced herself to look away. "I...uh..." she slipped her arm from his grip, tugged at the draped collar of her evening dress, pulling it away from her skin. "You know, it's kind of stuffy. We...uh...should get some air in here," she said awkwardly as she crossed the room to the balcony doors, opening them. She stepped out onto the balcony in the hopes that the chill of the night air would cool her overheated skin.

Lee was only seconds behind her, stepping out onto the balcony behind her, he placed his hands on her hips, his lips to the exposed skin of her upper back that had been driving him crazy all night.

Amanda took in a deep breath at the touch of Lee's lips to her skin, his hands on her hips. She knew this was a bad idea, but she made no move to stop him, her longing for him so fierce that it threatened to consume her whole, if she didn't get some real relief. Her release in the shower was now a distant memory as the object of her fantasy was now here behind her, touching her, running his lips and tongue along her bare skin.

"You look beautiful tonight," Lee whispered against her as his hands slid downward, only to slide back up her legs under the skirt of her knee-length white dress to reach for the silky panties beneath and push them to the ground. A slight step on Amanda's part and she was free of them. He wasted no time in slipping one hand to the front of her to caress her intimately as he brushed her hair aside with the other and lowered his lips to her neck.

"Lee," she whispered huskily as she gripped the railing in front of her tightly and glanced briefly down into the busy London street below them grateful that they were several floors up. She heard the fait hiss of a zipper mostly masked by the din of the traffic below. "OH," she cried as she felt Lee slamming into her from behind.

At hearing her name on his lips and knowing by her reaction that she was too far gone to stop him, Lee wasted no time in reminding her of who she really wanted, in spite of her earlier protests. He groaned at the feeling of being inside her again, hearing her respond to him, feeling her tight walls around him. He stroked her hard and fast as he pumped into her the same way, needing her desperately, but also feeling a great need to punish her for her behavior today. Her repeated "My Conrad" and the way she'd shamelessly flirted in front of him with the stranger who'd taught her to play blackjack driving his need to possess her. "Oh, God," He cried out as he erupted within her way too soon, shaking against her as he drove into her until he couldn't anymore, pulling out of her and releasing her abruptly, storming back into the room, guilt swamping him. He yanked his jacket off and tossed it violently on the bed.

Amanda let out a whimper of frustration at being left alone on the balcony, unfulfilled. Whiles she'd longed to have him inside her again, this wasn't the way she'd wanted it, but it was just as much her fault as it was his, she'd made no move to stop him or to slow him down at all. She stood there in silence for a moment before she released her tight grip on the railing, picked up her discarded underwear and made her way back into the room. "I...Uh...I should go," she stammered.

"God, I'm sorry, Amanda," Lee said as he once again gripped her arm to stop her from leaving. "I...um...I don't know what came over me."

'It's...it's okay," Amanda said with a half-hearted smile.

"No, no it's not. I..." Lee paused as he tried to figure out what to say. When no words would come, he used his grip on her arm to pull her to him and kiss her soundly, praying that he hadn't done irreparable damage to their relationship. He was delighted when she responded instantly to his kisses, opening to him, her tongue darting out to meet his as he backed her up and sat her on the back of the couch as he slid his hands up her thighs under her dress, parting her legs. He pulled his mouth from her and dropped to his knees in front of her as he hiked up the skirt of her dress, determined that he wasn't going to let her leave until he'd taken care of her needs. He dipped his head between her legs to taste her, exerting pressure to her with his tongue, rewarded for his efforts by her whispering him name.

"Lee," she said softly as she gripped the back of the sofa, digging her fingers into it to balance herself as the feeling of his mouth on her was making her weak. "Oh, Lee," she cried louder as he began to suckle her tender skin, the pleasure building. It had been so long since he'd touched her in this way, she'd almost forgotten just how good it was, how much he could make her feel. "LEE!" she screamed as her much-needed release hit her leaving her shuddering and gasping for breath, but his still didn't stop, continuing to devour her relentlessly, shifting his position slightly to start the pressure building all over again. Just when she felt she couldn't take anymore, he was suddenly standing in front of her again.

"Amanda," Lee growled, just before he captured her lips with his own and pushed into her much more gently than he had the first time, cupping her bottom to support her as he advanced and retreated slowly. He wanted to make this time last as long as possible relishing the feeling of being inside her again, feeling her locking her legs around him to urge him on, hearing her moans of pleasure that he hadn't the first time. Guilty feelings still ran through him that he'd taken her before she was ready for him and had left her wanting. They continued like this for what seemed like forever until he felt her muscles constricting around him and he spilled into her for the second time, cradling her to him as they rode out the wave of their mutual release together crying out each other's names and clinging to one another.

"Thank you," Amanda said once she was able to catch her breath.

Lee slipped out of her, chuckled and said, "Thank you?"

She smacked him playfully for teasing her and said, "You know what I mean. That...um...was much better."

"Amanda, I'm sor-"

"Don't," she said with a finger to his lips to silence him. "I know and you more than made up for it," she said, both knowing that she was talking about more than just the frenzied encounter on the balcony.

"Good," Lee said with a smile, his guilt easing.

Amanda lightly fingered the bruises on his throat and said, "I...uh...I should let you get some rest." She hopped down from the back of the sofa and pulled her panties back on.

"Amanda, you don't have to go. You could...um...stay...with me, I mean."

"I...uh...I should get back to my own room. If I stay here, I have a feeling that neither of us will get much sleep. You need to rest after what happened to you tonight and I...Um...I need to get some sleep too if I'm going to meet Conrad in the morning."

"Yeah, you're right," Lee said finding himself unable to argue with her logic, but feeling disappointed all the same. He planted one more kiss to her lips and said, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Lee," she said with a warm smile.

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Lee sat across from Amanda chuckling animatedly at hearing her say, "You know, I couldn't resist a little payback. The look on your face when I said I wanted to have tea at the palace was priceless."

"Okay, okay, I had it coming, I admit it," Lee said, but still couldn't help smiling that the tension between them had dissipated. "So, your...Um...friend was sure happy when he left."

"Yeah, I think that all this fame has given him just the confidence boost that he needed."

"So...Um...what are you going to do about him?"Lee inquired.

"What do you mean?"Amanda asked curiously.

"Come on, Amanda, I was listening in. I heard him confess that he's in love with you."

"Oh, that," Amanda said, a slight blush creeping into her cheeks. She gazed at Lee across the table for a moment wondering if this outing was intended to be a real date. She wanted to ask, but couldn't' quite find the courage to do so. Whether it was or not, she was just happy to be with him again."I...Um...I...well, I'm here with you, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Lee said as he sipped at his tea. "I guess you are," he added with a smile wondering if she realized that his offer to take her for her "proper British tea" was not only an attempt at another apology, but an effort to take her on a real date for once.


	23. I'm Supposed to Do That

Author's Note: The timeline at the end of this episode never quite made sense to me as Amanda was attempting to explain where she was the night before, but she is wearing a different outfit than the one she was wearing when she disappeared on Lee after his capture of the Baron. It almost seemed as if they were trying to make it seem as if another day had passed which doesn't make sense since Amanda is talking about why she didn't come home "last night." I thought that would be a perfect place to add a filler scene to explain it and make it make sense. Hope you like it.

**Chapter 23-I'm Supposed to Do That.**

"The Times, They Are-A Changing"

Lee found Amanda in the crowd after capturing the Baron, approaching her saying, "Well, did you spot your mother and the boys?"

Amanda pointed and whispered, "They're right over there."

When Lee turned to look, she took off weaving through the crowd to give him a taste of his own medicine as he'd been doing to her during this whole trip.

"Where?" Lee said as he turned the direction she'd pointed to see Dotty West's retreating figure, her arms around her grandsons. He turned back around to find her gone and couldn't help but smile as he said to himself, "Hey, I'm supposed to do that," with a shake of his head. He scanned the crowd as he made his way through the throngs of people, figuring she'd gone the direction of her family. It wasn't long before he caught a glimpse of sunlight glinting off the bright blue sequins in the outfit she'd borrowed from Francine. He quickly followed her and to his surprise, she didn't meet up with her mother. Instead, she veered the opposite direction, back toward the Hilton.

Amanda smiled brightly, knowing that Lee was behind her. She'd known that he would look for her as soon as she disappeared just as he had at the football camp. She'd counted on his skill as a spy to figure out which way she went. Without looking back, she kept up the pace she'd begun, knowing that he wasn't far behind her. Her smile widened with anticipation as she knew that her mother had planned on doing some more shopping after their trip to the Glockenspiel, followed by taking the boys to lunch, giving her the afternoon free and she knew just how she wanted to spend that time. Lee had been teasing her mercilessly for the past few days, maybe not intentionally, but he had. He had been continually putting his arm around her when they walked together, then had clasped her hand tightly when she'd nearly been run down. He'd even gone as far as to put his arm around her in front of Francine and Billy when she'd talked about making sure that they got Haddy back to his little boy. That had surprised her more than anything else. She knew by the look in her eyes that the gesture had not been lost on Francine. She smiled smugly at the thought that at least once, she'd gotten one over on Francine, not only that Lee didn't seem bothered by showing her affection in front of her, but by Billy's insistence that she lend her a gown.

"What the hell is she doing," Lee grumbled as he watched her enter the lobby of the Hilton and quickly make her way to the elevator. Why was she going back to her room? He'd have thought that since she'd been so worried about family, she'd immediately want to meet up with them. After she'd entered the elevator, he quickly sprinted to the doorway leading to the stairs, taking them two at a time, not willing to let her get away from him without an explanation for her rapid departure.

"What the hell am _I_ doing?" he questioned himself as he exited the stairwell on her floor. Why was he once again chasing Amanda? What was it about her that made him _want _to chase her? He stopped to catch his breath, stripping off the bowtie he still wore from the night before and stripped off his jacket, slinging it over one arm, just in time to see the object of his chase exit the elevator and walk leisurely toward her room. He quietly followed behind her, catching up to her just as she unlocked the door, grabbing her by the arm, causing her to screech.

"Oh, hi," she said with a smile.

"Did I startle you," he said in a low growl.

"A little," she admitted. "I wasn't expecting you to catch up quite that fast." She smiled sweetly at him, wriggled from his grasp and entered her room.

"Amanda, what do you mean you didn't expect me to catch up quite that fact? Did you want me to catch up?" He said as he entered right behind her. Amanda silently closed the door behind them, locking it them sliding the chain in place. She smiled seductively at him as she brushed past him, removing the sparkly jacket as she made her way through the suite and into her own room. A thought struck him just then that she'd wanted him to chase her. That thought made him want to leave just out of stubborn pride, but he was too intrigued by her behavior to let his pride get the best of him. He let out a deep sigh, knowing that she'd left him with no choice but to follow her to see where this led. He crept up to the doorway of her room and noticed that she'd slung the jacket across the bed and had removed her heels and her jewelry.

"What took you so long?" she teased as he entered the room taking his jacket and tie from his hands, tossing them across the bed before returning to face him, closing the door firmly behind him.

"What took-" Lee found he couldn't even finish the sentence. Seeing the mischievous gleam in her eyes, he no longer had any doubt of her reasoning for luring him up here. When she began to use her nimble fingers to slowly unbutton his shirt, kissing each patch of skin she exposed as she worked her way down roughly yanking the tails of it from his pants, he whispered low, "Why, Amanda King, are you trying to seduce me?"

"Yes," She answered honestly, as she knelt to open his pants stroking him softly causing him to twitch in her hands. "Is it working?" she purred just before she took him into her mouth.

"Oh, God, yes," Lee groaned as she worked her mouth along his shaft, making him painfully erect. He resisted the urge to thrust into her mouth; anxious to see where she was planning to take this, since she'd very obviously set him up. He closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the door, and let out a shuddering sigh as his hands tangled in her hair while she suckled him gently, exerting just enough pressure to get him going, but not enough to get him coming. Not wanting a repeat of the fiasco in London, he only let her continue for a moment longer before he clasped her hands, pulled her to her feet and kissed her passionately teasing her lips with his tongue, delighted when she opened to him.

Amanda moaned into Lee's mouth as he delved into her with his tongue, while his hands slid under the thin top she wore. She then felt him turning her around and pinning her against the door just before he broke their kiss and stared at her. "What," she said a little startled by his intense scrutiny of her.

"You, Amanda King, are a brutal tease," Lee growled.

She smiled and said, "How am I a tease? I was perfectly willing to finish what I started," she said as she pushed his shirt from his shoulder and ran her fingernails down his bare chest and back up again, knowing that particular move would set him off again.

"That is how you are a tease," Lee said glancing down at her hands on his chest. "Well, I've got news for you, two can play at that game," He added as he slid his hands to her knees running his hands up the inside of her thighs and then back down again repeating the movement.

"Oh, that's just mean," Amanda said with a frustrated sigh.

"Maybe you should have borrowed the gown instead of the pants, after all," Lee said as he repeated the movement again.

"Well, I didn't know what we might be getting into. I thought it was better to be comfortable," Amanda said.

"How very practical of you," Lee replied.

"Besides, there's no way that I could've filled that dress out as well as Francine would have. She's a bit bustier than I am."

"No, Amanda, you're wrong," Lee said as he tugged the sparkly top over her head and grasped one breast with each hand. "You've have filled it out just fine," He lightly thumbed her nipples causing her to gasp. "Besides," he added as he lowered his mouth to nip at her earlobe while he continued to caress her bare breasts, "You know what they say, more than a handful's a waste." He then lightly nuzzled her neck and murmured low against her skin, "you do look amazing in blue, though.'

Increasingly frustrated by his teasing of her, she decided to take action, sweeping her leg behind both of his, knocking him flat on his back just before she pounced n him, kissing him feverishly as she pressed the entire length of her body against his. Lee pulled back from her kiss, startled at finding the wind knocked out of him, both by her maneuver to knock him to the floor and by her heated kisses. "Where the hell did you learn to do that?"

"Well, I had a lot of time on my hands over the summer while you were trying to track down The Mongoose and Billy did agree to let me take a few self-defense courses, remember?"

"Right, after you asked if you should know how to hit. I'll tell you something, you sure no how to hit me where it hurts," he said as he pushed his hips up against her. "How'd you get so good at that anyway?" he teased.

"I _was _married for ten years, remember?"

"Oh, right," Lee said, shifting nervously, uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was heading. He didn't like at all the thought crossing his mind that she'd once performed oral sex on her ex-husband, a guy who clearly didn't deserve her if he'd let her get away. He decided to stifle that thought by showing her just how much she did deserve, as he rolled her beneath him and worked to slide the bright blue, satiny pants down her legs, along with her panties, then stepped out of his dress shoes, dropping his own pants and boxers. He then turned his attention back to her, kissing his way down her slender body until he reached the apex between her legs, pausing for a moment. Unable to resist teasing her just a little more, he planted a warm wet to the inside of her right then, then repeated the action on the left, suckling gently at the tender skin there.

"Lee, please," Amanda pleaded with him to end her torture.

"Please, what," he murmured against her as he placed a kiss to first one hip, then the other.

"Lee," she hissed as she grasped his head and tried to guide it to where she wanted it.

Lee looked up at her. "Uh-huh. Not until you tell me what you want me to do to you," he said in a low, husky voice feeling the need to pay her back from making him chase her. He placed a tender kiss to her flat stomach, dipping his tongue into her navel.

Amanda, pulsing with need, gasped out, "I want your mouth on me. I want you to taste me."

Looking up at her one more time, he flashed an impish grin at her. "Not exactly what I was looking for, but close enough," he said as he lowered her head between her legs and gave her what he knew she wanted, his tongue darting out to touch her. He smiled a smug smile at hearing her purr in response and lift her hips to meet him. He reached beneath her to cup her bottom as he delved deeper, delighting in the tasted of her, the scent of her arousal, her increasingly loud moans and gasps.

"OH, Lee," she cried at the exquisite sensations he was creating in her. She'd wanted him so fiercely ever since she'd first seen him after leaving the Glockenspiel with her children and he grabbed her arm. If she were truly honest with herself, she'd admit that she always wanted him. She wriggled beneath him, crying his name out louder than before as her orgasm slammed into her, leaving her trembling and gasping for breath.

"Come here," Lee growled as he rose to his knees and pulled her against him to straddle him, slowly pushing himself into her as he did so, tickled to feel her locking her legs behind him.

"Lee," Amanda hissed as she braced her hands on his shoulders and pushed against him driving him deeper.

"Amanda," He whispered as he looked into her eyes wondering just what other mysteries lay behind them. It seemed that every time he thought he knew her, she did something else to surprise him. He'd have never imagined that she'd lead him on a chase the hotel suite that she was sharing with her family. Her shared space with her family had always been off-limits. He pressed his lips to hers, slid his hands to her hips and no more words were spoken as they moved against each other. He pushed upward while she pushed downward, locked in motion together until they were both crying out each other's names and sat shaking against one another, lavishing each other with soft kisses while they came down from their high together. When Lee had finally caught his breath enough to speak again, he said, "You know, I'm the one who's supposed to disappear on you, not the other way around."

Amanda giggled and said, "Well, I couldn't resist giving you a taste of your own medicine. Besides, I knew you'd find me and I wanted to get you alone."

"Oh? How'd you know that I'd _want_ to find you?"

"I just knew," Amanda said smiling sweetly as she extracted herself from his arms and rose to pick up her scattered clothes.

"What are you doing?" Lee said in surprise at her abrupt departure from his arms.

Amanda tossed the clothes on the bed and answered, "Well, I really need to get cleaned up and go meet my family."

"Oh, right," Lee said as he rose to his feet and began to gather up his own clothes, "and I...uh...I should go check in with Billy and make sure everything's taken care of."

"Yeah, you probably should," Amanda said a little disappointed that he hadn't asked to join her in the shower again.

"Yeah," he said as he began to get dressed, feeling downhearted that she hadn't invited him to share her shower after the way she'd led him on. "By the way, did you ever figure out what you're going to tell your mother about where you were last night?"

"I think I'll just tell her I was with you," Amanda said.

"Very funny," Lee said with a sigh.

"I'm not being funny," Amanda said. "Mother's known about you for months."

"What? Amanda, you can't-"

"Relax, Lee," Amanda said cutting him off. "She doesn't know who you are or what you do. She just knows that I have a...a...lover that she'd never met."

"Oh? When did this happen?"

"I told you when we were trying to rescue Scotty and Raul that she thought I was having a clandestine love affair, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember," Lee said. "So?"

"So...I...uh...just decided to go with it and let her keep believing that that's what's been going on in my life. It's a lot easier than trying to explain about the agency or make up a bunch of lies to _not_ explain about the agency. Besides, it's not as if I'm lying to her. I mean, you and I...we...uh...we've had this thing going on for a little over a year now."

"Thing?"Lee said in amusement. "You mean our clandestine love affair?" he added with a chuckle.

"You know what I mean, Lee. Besides, I don't think either of us knows what to call it. I mean, we're obviously attracted to each other or we wouldn't keep...But we...we're not a couple...we're not dating...I can't bring you home to meet my family."

"Right," Lee said swallowing hard. He knew that she was just being honest and everything she said was accurate, but he was surprised by how much it hurt to hear her say the words aloud. "You know, I should...uh..." He gestured to the door.

"Yeah, and I should...uh..." she gestured to the bathroom door disappointment flooding through her that he hadn't corrected her evaluation of what they were to each other.

"So...I...uh...I'll see you later," Lee said as he draped his jacket over his arm, his hand poised on the doorknob, hoping she'd stop him.

"Yeah, later," Amanda said quickly heading into the bathroom and closing the door behind her.

"Later," Lee said as he exited her room filled with a deep sense of longing.

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When Lee made it to his rendezvous point, he found only Francine and a couple of other agents. "Hey, Francine, where's Billy?"

"Getting Haddy Kemp on a plane," Francine answered. "He's been giving us some great information. I'm surprised you didn't want to ask him some questions yourself."

"I...um...I had some...other things to take care of," Lee said.

"Things involving a certain housewife, maybe?"Francine inquired with an arched eyebrow. "So, what are you two going steady now?"

"Can it, Francine," Lee said not in the mood for her acid tongue after his encounter with Amanda.

"Oh, come on, Lee, I saw that little gesture when she was worried about Haddy getting back to his son, when you put your arm around her, not to mention the way she looked at you with those doe eyes."

"I was just trying to comfort her. This case hit her a little hard since she has two sons of her own."

"That's all it was?" Francine said archly, not quite believing it.

"That's all it was, Francine," Lee said trying to sound more chipper about it than he felt. The truth was, he just liked putting his arms around Amanda and would use any excuse he could to do it.

"Oh, okay," Francine said disbelievingly. "Then how about this one? Just before you took off to stop the Baron, explain to me why the two of you were holding hands like a pair of teenagers at prom."

"Again, that was just a comforting gesture because she was worried about her family."

"I see," Francine said. "Well, I'd be careful if I were with those _comforting_ gestures of yours. She's clearly infatuated with you and she's not one of your little playmates that you can just get some and get gone with."

"Believe me, Francine, that is not my intention with Amanda," Lee said, "Furthest thing from my mind." He definitely wanted more with Amanda than just to "get some and get gone" though that's how it always seemed to end up. Either she was bolting on him or he had to disappear. Lee sighed as he thought about the fact that while they'd been sleeping together for over a year, they'd never truly _slept_ together. In fact, they'd never even made it to a bed at all.

"Good," Francine said.

"Good, now can we talk about the case?"

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"Mother, there really is a good reason why I didn't come home last night," Amanda tried to explain.

"I'm sure there is, Dear," Dotty said sounding bored.

"Well, there really is," Amanda said.

"Yes, Honey, you're a big girl, you don't owe me any explanation."

"Thank you, Mother," Amanda said sighing in relef.

Amanda's relief was short-lived when her mother said, "But you could have called."

"I should have," Amanda conceded.

"Yeah, but you didn't," Dotty reminded her.

"I was tied up," Amanda said with a slight smile as she remembered Lee's words to her when they were literally tied up.

"Amanda, look, if you don't have your memories, you don't have anything," Dotty said with a knowing smile.

"Mother, it's not what you're thinking," Amanda said.

Dotty fixed her with an icy glare and said, "You're too young to know what I'm thinking." As Amanda made an excuse to leave the table saying she was going to take some pictures, she watched her closely as she walked by a table where a lone man was sitting with his back to them. Her eagle eyes caught the fact that as soon as her daughter walked by him, he rose from his seat and locked step with her as she walked. While she couldn't really see what he looked like from this angle since they were walking away from her, she knew he was the same man she'd caught a glimpse of leaving the house and seen on the patio with her when she'd peered out through the boys' window. She craned her neck to try to get a better look at him, but they continued to move away from her view. "That certainly explains a lot," she muttered to herself.

"What are you talking about, Grandma," Phillip asked.

"Oh, nothing, Darling," Dotty said though she couldn't help but smile as she looked at her grandchildren. She turned back to her newspaper, wondering since this love affair had been going on for so long, if he might not someday be a stepfather to them.


	24. High-Diving Act

Author's Note: On these first few episodes, I am once again following script date order, not airdate order. Just wanted to let you all know that, so you're not thrown by my revised order in the next few chapters up to chapter 30. Also, when I get to "A Relative Situation," it was also aired out of order with "A Little Sex, A Little Scandal" so those two when I get to them will be in reverse order as well. For this one, I decided to insert the love scene into the scene after their "high-diving act." After all, Lee already had his shirt open and they both had their shoes off. Plus, they were soaking wet.

**Chapter 24-High Diving Act**

"The Legend of Das Geisterschloss"

"Well," Amanda said breathing heavily, "At least we're alright. We got away, huh?."

"Yeah, and that's all we've got," Lee said running his hands through his sopping hair. "Those two goons at the castle turned us into a high-diving act and I don't even know who they are or why they were waiting for us."

As Amanda rambled about the clues they'd assembled so far from Emily's sketches and they debated about what it was she was trying to tell them, he couldn't help but notice just how sexy Amanda looked soaking wet. Her sopping sweater, under which, it was clear that she wore no bra, and the way it clung her lithe frame brought back vivid memories of having had her wet and naked in the shower when they were undercover as husband and wife. Through their conversation, he figured out that the waitress was important to their investigation. "Come on," He said pulling Amanda to her feet intending to continue the investigation, but when she stumbled slightly against him, her wet from pressed to his, all thoughts of the case flew out of his head.

Amanda gasped slightly at Lee's strong arms holding her steady, her mind flashing back to their encounter in the locker room shower. Unable to stop herself, she found her fingers running up his chest, pushing his already open shirt off of his shoulders, her lips following the path of her hands as she sucked droplets of water from his skin.

Lee groaned at the contact, a little startled by her initiative, but pleased all the same as he tugged at her heavy sweater to pull it over her head, exposing her breasts to his hungry eyes. He lowered his mouth to one of them, licking away the water from it before turning to the other to do the same with it.

"Oh," Amanda sighed as Lee's moth warmed her chilled skin. She tugged at his pants to open them while he did the same with hers not stopping until they were both stripped of their wet clothes.

"God," Lee groaned as Amanda stroked him while he reached between her legs to do the same, delighted by hearing her soft moans of pleasure. He was soon stopped though by Amanda dropping to her knees and taking him into her mouth. "Oh," he cried as he warm mouth combated the cold from the water making him harder than he'd ever been for her as she relentlessly suckled him until he felt as if her were going to lose it right then. He tugged on her hands to stop her, then pushed on her shoulders to lower her to the grass, quickly joining her, resuming his task of sucking every bit of water from her skin that he could, trailing his mouth from her neck to her shoulders, down her chest, her stomach and finally even lower. The scent of her arousal combined with the scent of the of the grass and her cries of pleasure spurring him on as he devoured her.

"Oh, Lee," Amanda gasped as she clutched his head to her and twitched beneath him as he brought her to her peak, causing her to cry out his name repeatedly. As she came down from her high and saw Lee hovering over her, she shook her head and said, "no," through her heavy breathing.

"No?" Lee said sounding deflated.

"No," Amanda said as she hooked her legs around him and used them to flip him over onto his back. "No," she repeated as she straddled his hips, then reached to guide him into her, smiling as she watched his facial expression change at her bold maneuver.

Lee let out a shuddering breath as Amanda began to rock against him, pressing her legs tightly against each side of his as she forced him deeper inside her, her tight muscles welcoming him, squeezing him, causing his heart rate to triple, his breathing to become ragged as his pleasure built. "Amanda," he groaned as he decided to help her, grasping her hips, pulling her down against him while he pushed his hips upward to push himself into her.

"Lee," Amanda hissed, her breath now coming in short, shallow pants. She clasped his waist and leaned backward slightly to change the angle of penetration, knowing exactly what she needed to increase her own pleasure, knowing that he'd get there, no matter what, but she may not without a little help. "Oh," she cried at the sensation as they moved together in perfect rhythm, her body still humming from the release he'd already given her, it didn't take her long to reach a scone one and soon found herself screaming his name uncontrollably, letting him take over as her body shook.

"Oh, so good, Amanda," he cried. Using his grip on her hips, he reversed their positions, rolling her beneath him, taking great care to make sure he stayed inside her. "So good to hear that," He whimpered into her ear before lowering his lips again to her neck as he began to pump into her harder and faster. "I love to hear you calling my name," he murmured against her further excited by Amanda locking her arms around his back and pushing her hips up against his as if she still wanted more of him. He was happy to oblige as he thrust into her, soon crying out her name in return as he felt himself exploding within her. He slowed him movements as they rode out the wave together, both breathing heavily as their cries turned into whispers of each other's names.

They lay there for a long moment still locked together, sharing soft kisses and caresses until Amanda, her breathing finally under control, said, "As nice as this is, we should get back to work. Emily needs us."

"Yeah," Lee said as he reluctantly slipped out of her, then climbed to his feet and reached for her hand to pull her to hers. Amanda chuckled softly as she took in both of their appearance. "What?" Lee said.

"Look," she said as she pointed out the bits of grass sticking to both of them, plucking blades of grass from his back.

Lee laughed in return and said, "Yeah, I guess we should clean up a bit first, huh?"

"Yeah," Amanda said as she made her way toward the lake and stepped into it, lowering herself into the water to wash the grass from her body, Lee soon stepping in and doing the same. Lee laughed, this time causing Amanda to be the one to say, "What?"

"I was just thinking that this brings back memories of skinny dipping as a teenager," Lee said with a laugh.

Amanda laughed and said, "You're right, it does."

Lee looked at her in surprise and said, "You?"

"Don't look so surprised," She said with a mirthful grin as she still worked on getting bits of grass rinsed from her back. "You're not the only one who was a little wild as a teenager."

"Here, turn around and let me help you," Lee said shaking his head at this new piece of the Amanda King puzzle. He scooped up handfuls of water and poured them down her back, until there were no more loose bits of grass to be seen. "I think I got it all," He said trying to resist the urge to touch her again at once again seeing her naked and wet in front of him. He swallowed hard and then stammered, "Uh...Maybe...You could...um...do the same for me?"

"Yeah," Amanda said, a little disappointed that he'd refrained from touching her again. She turned to face him and said, "Turn." She then repeated his actions of scooping up water to rinse him off, then feeling a bit mischievous, stepped back slightly and splashed the water as hard as she could, spraying him with it.

"Hey," He said turning around.

"What?"She said giving him and innocent look. "You had grass tuck to the top of your shoulders and you're taller than me. That was the only way I could reach that high."

Lee glared at her. "Oh, yeah?" That's funny because I don't seem to recall you having trouble reaching that high all the times you've put your arms around me," he said challengingly.

"Well, this was different," Amanda said grinning at him mirthfully.

"Oh?"

"Yeah."

"I don't buy it," Lee said in disbelief.

"What are you going to do about it," she challenged.

"This," he said as he splashed water at her. Amanda squealed and splashed back at him. "Oh, you're asking for trouble."

At seeing the devilish look in his eyes, she turned and tried to move away from him, hampered by the water, he quickly captured her around the waist from behind, both breathing heavily again. "Oh," she gasped as Lee pushed into her again.

"Yea," Lee groaned at being inside her again, though not nearly as erect as he had been due to the coolness of the water. He knew if he didn't move quickly, he'd never be able to do what he wanted. His hands locked on her waist, he began to thrust into her again, excited by feeling her pushing back against him.

"Oh, God," Amanda said at feeling Lee lengthening and growing harder within her as he drove into her repeatedly. "Oh, yes," she cried as she felt her excitement building at knowing she was doing that to him and felt him pushing harder into her than he ever had in the past soon driving her to yet another climax as she felt him erupting within her again. Even though they weren't in a real relationship, he reveled in the feeling of the power she had over him, the way that she could make him call only her name out, in spite of the large number of woman he'd dated.

"Wow," Lee said against her neck still unable to believe what this seemingly simple housewife could do to him. How she could make him yearn for her and how no matter how many times they made love, she still always left him wanting more. he felt sometimes as if he'd never get enough of her.

"To say the least," Amanda replied with a soft chuckle.

"Yeah," Lee said as he slid out of her shaking off the thoughts of her desperate desire to have her as often as possible. "Now, we really need to get back to work," He said to get his mind off of his powerful need for her as he waded to the edge of the lake and pulled himself out, reaching for her hand to help her out. He then made his way to his discarded wet clothing, dressing as quickly as he could to avoid any further temptation to make love to her for hours until neither of them had any strength left.

Amanda reached for her own clothes and said, "You know, we should probably go back to the hotel and change into some dry clothes before we go see Mariana," as she looked at her soggy sweater in disgust.

"Yeah," Lee said looking at his own drenched clothing. "Probably a good idea," trying to shake off the image that had created in his mind of taking her to the bed in his hotel room and fulfilling his fantasy of spending hour after hour locked in her arms, taking pleasure in her while giving her her own. At seeing her dressed in her wet clothing, it still clinging to her body, outlining every curve, his mind wouldn't' let that image go. "Come on. Let's go," He said shaking his head, forcing himself to think about the case and mentally reminding himself that the talks in Brussels were in danger of being compromised in less than twenty-four hours if they didn't solve this case by them. "You know, on second thought," he said as they made their way to their rental car. "Let's just go straight to the cafe before they close. We can always change clothes later."

"Okay," Amanda said but couldn't help wondering why he'd switched gears so suddenly. He wondered if he'd been thinking the same thing that he had, about what they could do in one of their hotel rooms. the thought had definitely crossed her mind of inviting him into her room for the evening, not that she was sure that he'd take her up on it, though he _had_ tried twice now to get her to spend the night with him, so she was hopeful that he would.

Once at the cafe, Lee growled, "Damn it, it's closed,"

"We can come back first thing in the morning, "Amanda said trying to stay upbeat.

"Count on it," Lee replied. "I've got a lot of questions to ask, like where is Emily?"

"Hey, we can't do anything more tonight," Amanda said, "And I don't know about you, but I'm starving after our...um...swim. Maybe we should grab some dinner."

"Yeah, not a bad idea," Lee said looking at her quizzically wondering if that had been her attempt to ask him out on a date. _Don't be stupid, _he told himself. _She's just hungry and it is about dinnertime. _"You have any place in mind?" he asked.

"Oh, well, I...um...I was just thinking that I'd still like to put some fresh clothes on, so I...um...I was thinking maybe we'd go back to the hotel and just order room service."

"Room service?" Lee choked out. Surely, she wasn't suggesting what he thought she was suggesting. No, not possible. She'd already turned down his invitation to spend a full night with him twice. He decided to avoid the humiliation of that kind of rejection again; he was safer making an alternate suggestion. "Um...You know, maybe we...uh...should just hit a restaurant instead. By the time we get done eating, it'll be about time to get ready for bed anyway. No sense in changing clothes twice at this point."

"You make a good point," Amanda said sighing in frustration that he hadn't taken the hint that she was after a different kind of room service entirely. She wanted to just straight out tell him that, but since he hadn't figured it out on his own, felt it was better to just let it go.

"Okay, it's all settled then," Lee said as he tried to keep his mind on the road in front of them and not on the fact that Amanda sounded so disappointed at his suggestion. Had he misread in her intentions, after all? He wanted to ask, but didn't have the courage to be that bold. He shook his head as he thought of his cracks about them being turned into a high-diving act and thought in that moment that their relationship was very much like that.


	25. High Heel Good Time

**Chapter 25-High Heel Good Time**

"Our Man in Tegernsee"

"Oh, hello," Amanda said shakily.

"What did you say," Lee replied in a clipped tone trying to keep his anger in check.

"Hello?"She said worriedly, not liking the look on Lee's face.

"Hello," Lee said with none of the usual warmth on his face when he saw her as He linked he arm through the iron bars of Amanda's jail cell and glared at her.

She smiled nervously and said, "Did you have a nice trip?"

"Did I have a nice trip?" Lee said barely containing his irritation. Well, it all started with me being rousted out of bed in the middle of the night by Billy.

"Sorry," Amanda said hanging her head.

"Did I mention I'd taken a long weekend?"

"No, you didn't," Amanda said with an arched eyebrow wondering just what his plans had been for his long weekend.

"I'd taken a _long _weekend..." Lee confirmed pointedly, "...which had just started. Gillian's got a terrific lodge up in the Poconos." In truth, his long weekend with Gillian was done before it had ever begun because on their last date when Amanda had first left for Germany, he'd been thinking of nothing but her and it had shown. Gillian had immediately called him out on being distracted and not paying enough attention to her. He had agreed to the long weekend with Gillian in the hopes of being distracted by her from his incessant thoughts of Amanda. Instead, he'd been distracted _from_ Gillian by his thoughts of his partner, knowing she was going to be in Germany only brought back memories of the time they'd been in Germany together. When he'd tried to pass it off as just concern for his partner's safety, he hadn't been very convincing and she'd told him, not very nicely to take and hike and to forget the weekend, and that she'd find someone else who would keep his attention on her for more than two seconds. His anger now had more to do with the fact that no matter how hard he tried; he couldn't get the tempting housewife out of his head.

"Gillian has a lodge in the Poconos?" Amanda said with a grimace.

Lee nodded and continued. "So, I was rousted out of bed, and then there were all those questions down in the office, which, by the way, I had no answers to."

"It must have been just awful," Amanda said trying to be sympathetic, but could help that just a trace of sarcasm that filtered into her statement. She'd just spent the night in a German jail, and he was mad because his naughty weekend had been interrupted. She felt a painful stab of jealousy striking her in the heart.

Catching the slight sarcastic tone in Amanda voice, he countered even more sarcastically, "The flight over the Atlantic Ocean was very nice. Nine hours and forty-five minutes, but very nice."

"You're angry with me," Amanda said softly.

"Now, why should_ I_ be angry," Lee said in mock surprise. "Hmm? Why should I even be surprised?" Amanda jumped slightly, startled by his harsh tone. "You were sent over her to do agency business. All you had to do was deliver an envelope, that's all! And you get yourself arrested for passing counterfeit money?"

Amanda getting angry at his anger, leaned forward and snapped, "I didn't know that money was counterfeit! Lee, you know I would never do a thing like that!"

"The German government is very, very unhappy and the American government is very unhappy-"

"_I _am very unhappy!" Amanda interrupted. Boy was she ever. Between being arrested, not being able to go home, not knowing what was going to happen to her and the painful idea that had she not been arrested, Lee would have spent the entire weekend in the arms of another woman. She cringed as the thought about his comment of being rousted out of bed, out of bed with Gillian, no doubt.

"Counterfeiting louses up everybody's economy."

Amanda had finally had enough. She forcefully tossed the blanket from her lap and rose to her feet, stormed to the bars to meet him, but by the time she got there, her anger had turned into worry and fear "Look, I know you're disappointed."

"Oh," Lee said with a deep sigh.

"I'm a little disappointed myself," Amanda said though she didn't want to admit that her disappointment has just as much to do with the fact that he was so angry about his weekend rendezvous with this Gillian person was interrupted as she was about being in jail. When he'd arrived, she'd been so happy to see him, only to find that he'd been with another woman and that he'd rather be with that other woman than with her. She couldn't help but wonder if he was serious about her. She tried to shake of that nagging thought and said, "Doris Semple was supposed to pick me up at Dulles International Airport. My mother and Phillip and Jamie are probably worried sick about me. I'm in Jail in Germany. I've never been in jail before and I don't even speak German. The only word I know if edelweiss."

Lee, at hearing the edge in her voice, seeing the tears in her eyes, gave her a calming gesture with his hands and said, "Okay, okay." What he really wanted to to was to take her in his arms and hold her until she calmed down, but with the bars between them, this was the best that he could do.

"...and I learned that from "The Sound of Music, I saw it seven times."

"Take it easy, huh?" he said in a soothing tone with a slight smile. "Just take it easy."

"What's going to happen to me?"

"Well, for the moment, you are to be released into my custody," Lee said with a warm smile, liking that idea very much.

"I am?" she said smiling back.

"But you can't leave Germany."

"I can't leave Germany?"She asked warily.

Lee just shook his head, but he wasn't entirely disappointed as he recalled the last time they'd been in Munich together and how she'd led him on a wild goose chase that had led to an even wilder time in her hotel room. All thoughts of Gillian jilting him had disappeared from his mind.

Once, Lee had gotten Amanda released and they were on their way, he found himself becoming increasingly irritated by the way that Lieutenant Volkenauer had all but ignored his presence when he'd tried to introduce himself. He'd answered with a noncommittal, "Yes, I was told," and a half-hearted shake of his hand, before turning his attention solely to Amanda, treating him as if he were invisible. He then began to question her about her statement and this "Hymie" she spoke of almost as if he were a jealous lover wanting to know if she had a man in her life. He even seemed relieved when Amanda explained that it was her son, Jamie, she'd been talking about. Lee eyed him warily, wondering just what he was up to.

"Now, should any other questions arise, you will be available?" The lieutenant inquired.

"Well, since you have her passport, that's a rather academic question, don't you think," Lee snapped, his irritation showing. He didn't at all like the way this guy was smiling and gazing at Amanda as if her were undressing her with his eyes.

Once finally finding his old friend, Harry Hollinger, Lee's irritation only increased. He'd been happy to see him at first until his crack about Billy's taste improving which was clearly a not-so-subtle way of flirting with Amanda. His smile soon changed to a scowl at his friend. Then his comment, "The _right_ company," accompanied by a suggestive tone and leer at Amanda had only increased his agitation. What the hell was it with men flirting with his Amanda right in front of him? Had he suddenly turned into the invisible man?

When the conversation turned to a drink and Harry made his crack about it being five o'clock somewhere, he replied, "What are you talking about, man? I never had any respect for you anyway," trying to pass it off as a joke with an awkward chuckle, but there was just a hint of underlying bitterness in his tone. How could his so-called friend make a blatant pass at Amanda while he was standing right there? Couldn't he see that Amanda was _his_ girl?

Later than night, after Harry had passed out on his couch and he and Amanda had helped him to bed, Lee felt a pang of sadness for Amanda as she tried to explain to her mother what had happened and why she wasn't coming home and was becoming increasingly frustrated by it. "Everything okay?" He asked, but Amanda waved her hand at him to shush him.

On the other end of the phone line, Dotty was shaking as she tried to stifle her giggles. She'd listened to Amanda concocting so many wild stories since she'd begun her love affair over a year ago and now it was an arrest for counterfeiting in Germany, no less. "What? i can't hear you!" she said feigning a bad connection as trembled with amusement hoping that her daughter would just come clean with her and admit that she was there with her mystery man.

She'd heard a distinctly male voice when she'd called her earlier in the day and again just a moment ago asking if everything was okay. She was sure it was the same male voice that she'd heard on the patio with Amanda in the past. She just wished she knew more about the man her daughter was so smitten with. She'd gotten a quick peek at him twice, but only from the back. All that she could tell was that he was tall, had sandy brown hair and a very nice rear end, but what did that really say about what kind of man he was? He obviously didn't think twice about repeatedly having sex with a woman without a commitment of any kind. On the other hand, if he kept coming back for more, maybe there was something to it. Maybe he was one of those men who had a hard time admitting his feelings. She just wished she knew. Amanda clearly wasn't bothered by keeping things with him just the way they were. She wondered if it had something to do with this new job at IFF. Did they frown on workplace romances? Was that why their relationship, whatever it was, was being kept so secret.

She listened for a moment longer as Amanda finished her second retelling of her tale of counterfeiting and when she didn't reply, she heard her daughter ask, "Mother, did you hear me?"

Dotty purposely remained silent until Amanda finally gave up, told her she'd try to call again another time. "Okay, Darling," she replied and just as she was about to hang up, once again heard the male voice in background asking her if everything was okay at home. "Hmm," she said to herself as she placed the receiver back in its cradle. If he's concerned about her home life, maybe he did care , after all.

Standing in Harry's living room, Lee removed his suit jacket and tie, then kicked off his shoes while he watched as Amanda hung up the phone in frustration, muttering about a bad connection. Seeing the pained look on her face for the second time that day, he approached her and wrapped his arms around her the way that he'd wanted to when she was in jail, "Hey," he said soothingly. "It'll be okay. We'll try again tomorrow, okay?"

"I...um...I just don't want her to worry," Amanda said as she leaned into Lee's comforting embrace enjoying the warmth of his touch after the stress of the past twenty-four hours.

"I know," he said as he gently rocked her in his arms.

"I'm sorry to be such a burden," Amanda said looking up at him.

"Hey," Lee said as he wiped the unshed tears from her eyes. "You are _not _a burden."

"But I...uh...I ruined your weekend," Amanda said touched by his gesture, but still unnerved by the idea that he'd had...other plans for the weekend.

"No, you didn't. My weekend was already ruined," Lee confessed. "Gillian dumped me two days ago."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Amanda said trying to sound sympathetic, but failing miserably as her heart leapt at the thought that he was no longer involved with anyone else.

"Don't be. All I would have been doing is sitting around my apartment moping" Lee replied, although he wasn't quite ready to admit that it would be her that he was moping over. He then changed his tone to a much softer one. "I'm not sorry a bit. We weren't that serious to begin with. Besides, I'd rather be here with you," He said as he placed a tender kiss to her forehead. When he pulled back and saw the glowing smile on her face, the adoring look in her eyes, he stammered, "I...I mean...to...uh...help you get out of this mess." he quickly turned from her, but was stopped by her tugging on his arm.

"Is that the only reason that you'd rather be here with me," She said in a suggestive tone. While she knew that Lee's embrace had been intended to be one of a purely comforting nature, it along with his words had stirred something else entirely in her.

"I...uh...what other reason would it be?" Lee said evasively.

"Oh, um...I don't know," Amanda said hesitantly searching his eyes for any sign of his true feelings that she knew were there. She decided to take a chance, snaking her arms around his neck and kissing him, inwardly praying that he'd respond.

Lee sighed at the feel of her lips pressed against his and responded by sliding his hands to her waist, kissing her back, teasing her lips with his tongue and holding hr tightly to him. This time his embrace was not the comforting one it had been, but one of the desire for her that he'd being trying all day to suppress, tinged with a bit of possessiveness after watching her dodge other men's advances. He was elated when she opened her mouth to his and began to work loose the buttons on his shirt, caressing his chest beneath, and then roughly yanking the tails of it from his pants while he moved his hands to do the same with her blouse, needing to touch her the same way. He pulled back from the kiss, gazing into her eyes for a moment to be sure that this was what she wanted and that she wasn't just reaching out to him because she'd had an upsetting day. "Amanda," he said questioningly. When the only thing he saw reflected back at him in her eyes was raging desire, he lowered his lips to the tender spot just below her ear, then down her neck, then her shoulder before unhooking her bra and taking once breast in his mouth.

"Lee," Amanda said with a soft sigh as she pushed his dress shirt from his shoulders running her hands up his firm chest, loving the feel of his muscles beneath the smooth skin. Before she knew what was happening, she heard a loud crash and felt herself being lowered onto a hard surface while Lee's hands roamed under her skirt, sliding her panties down her legs. While she had initiated the contact, he had quickly taken over and was now on his knees between her legs, his mouth driving her crazy as he suckled and licked her relentlessly. She couldn't get over how much he could make her feel and how quickly he could do it.

Lee, from his perch at the end of the coffee table, delighting in hearing Amanda's moans of pleasure, continued to devour her needing to remind her how good her could be to her, that these other men couldn't be as good to her. He was very soon rewarded for his efforts, hearing her crying out her release, her quivering thighs clenching around his head. He raised his head to give her a satisfied smile."Feel better?"

"Much," Amanda said breathlessly as she reached out her arms to him. "But I could be even better," she added in alluring tone.

Lee needed no further invitation. He quickly divested himself of his pants, dragging his boxers along with them, and then joined her waiting arms as he simultaneously joined them together. "Oh," he groaned at the feeling of being sheathed within her welcoming warmth again withdrawing from her just enough to push into her deeper than before. Wanting that feeling to last as long as possible, he kept his movements within her slow and steady, not wanting to lose that feeling any time soon.

"Oh," Amanda gasped at his maddeningly slow movements as he moved in and out of her. If he kept this up, she wouldn't be able to take it much longer. It hadn't gone unnoticed that both Harry and the Lieutenant had been flirting with her, and while she'd been flattered by the attention, the only man's attention she wanted was the one who was inside her, making her desperate with need. She locked her legs firmly around his hips, pushing her own hips up against him to urge him to pick of the pace. When he still kept up the same pace, she panted through her heavy breathing, "Lee...I...I...need..." She gasped again as he pushed into her again just as slowly and finally unable to take anymore of his teasing, cried out, "Harder! Please!"

"You want it harder," He growled as he pulled back from her and slammed back into her, feeling her eager response, he said, "Is that what you want?"

"Yes," she rasped. "Yes...please."

Lee, realizing that he couldn't hold back any longer with her pleading for completion, gripped her hips tightly and slammed into her again and again, each time producing louder cries of pleasure from her. His own pleasure was heightened by knowing just what he was doing to her and he thought that he might be a little egotistical, but he was sure by the way she responded to him that no other man had ever made her feel that way. He cried out her name as he felt everything in him letting go and his warmth spilling into her as she clenched tightly around him, leaving both of them quaking and gasping for breath. "Amanda," he whispered softly as he collapsed atop her, holding her tightly to him.

Amanda wrapped her arms around Lee cradling him to her as they lay on Harry's coffee table locked together in their post-coital embrace, whispering each other's names reverently. "Lee," she whispered in a shaky voice as she trailed tender kisses down his face and held him close.

Once his breathing was under control again and his heart rate back to normal, Lee pulled back from her, rose to his feet and reached for her hands to help her up. He kissed her softly, then chuckled slightly and said, "It's a good thing Harry's passed out."

Amanda couldn't help but laugh too and said, "You know, we should probably get to bed too. It's been a long day." She then bent to retrieve her discarded blouse, bra and panties, putting them back on, while Lee gathered up his own clothes.

"Yeah, it has been," he said as he dressed as well.

Amanda looked at the mess from where Lee had swept the contents of the coffee table onto the floor and said, "What should we do about this?"

"Leave it," Lee said with amusement dancing in his eyes. "We'll just tell Harry in the morning that he did when he got so drunk. He'll never know the difference."

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After Amanda had turned down the Lieutenant's dinner date, Lee couldn't help smiling smugly at him. He then turned to Amanda to find her smiling just as brightly at him. He looked back over his shoulder to make sure the annoying cop was gone, then turned back to Amanda and said, "So, you do know our flight home's not leaving until tomorrow afternoon, right?"

"Yeah, I know," Amanda said amusement dancing in her eyes.

"So, why'd you turn him down?"Lee asked curiously.

"Well, I was thinking that if I'm going to have a typical Bavarian meal, I'd rather it be with you," she said still smiling. She paused for a moment, linked her hands with his then added with a mischievous grin, "Maybe complete with dessert."


	26. Take Off Your Belt

**Chapter 26-Take Off Your Belt**

"Double Agent"

Amanda had been a nervous wreck all day since seeing Arlene Francis' show and was now even more anxious as Lee's statement about giving her a new identity ran through her head. She hesitated for a moment before she took a deep breath. _Just do it, Amanda, _she told herself. "Lee, I was thinking..."

"Now what?" he snapped in irritation, not directed at her, but at the whole situation, the idea that she might have to be relocated, tearing at his heart.

"Well, you're probably in that book too, aren't you?"

"Yeah, I suppose," Lee said that thought not having occurred to him as he was so worried about losing her.

"Well, if you are, then they would probably have to give you a new identity and relocate you too, wouldn't they?" A ridiculous thought occurred to her as she wondered if it wouldn't be possible to relocate them together. Did they ever do that with partners? _No, that's silly, _she chided herself. That would defeat the whole purpose, but she couldn't help the pang of sadness sweeping through her at the idea that she might never see each other again.

"Yeah, probably. So?" he said gruffly as he tried to hide his inner turmoil at that thought, the thought of never seeing her again.

"Well, we wouldn't get to see each other again, I guess," Amanda said with a small half-smile as she tried to gauge how he felt about the situation.

"Yeah," Lee said in a shaky voice, turning from her, as he could no longer stand the fake smile belying the pain in her eyes that mirrored his own. "Yeah, I guess not." Could she be thinking the same thing that he was? He had to know. He turned back to her, fixing her with a steely gaze and said, "Why?" with a hopeful half-smile.

"Just thinking," Amanda said with a slight nod and another halfhearted smile at not getting the response she wanted from him. She turned from him and sighed deeply.

An awkward moment passed between them, Lee's Porsche filled with unspoken tension until they both stammered nervously about getting in there to talk to Harriman.

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Dotty gaped at her daughter and said, "Amanda, could I see you in the kitchen for a minute?" Amanda nodded. The two women made their way from the living room to the den. Once settles on the sofa, Dotty said, "Amanda.'

"Yes, Mother?"Amanda replied.

"This is the first time in modern history that you have let those boys stay up past their bedtime, especially on a school night. Now, what is going on?"

"Nothing's going on, Mother," Amanda lied with a shake of her head.

Dotty sighed at her daughter's obvious attempt a hiding whatever it was she was trying to hide. "Amanda, did I ask you embarrassing questions about why it took you six hours to go to the drugstore to buy some aspirin?" She no longer believed that her daughter had been suffering from a headache after the way she'd disappeared. In fact, she thought just the opposite, that her gentleman friend was not likely to hear her using the "I've got a headache" excuse.

"No, Mother," Amanda answered.

"And what about that outrageous tale about how you got your sweater ruined at a mud-wrestling bar?"

"Oh, Mother, that's the truth," Amanda said quickly. When her mother looked at her disbelievingly, she continued, "Now, the film company that I work for, IFF, wants to buy a book and the contact was at this...bar."

"A _mud-wrestling_ bar?" Dotty said impatiently.

"Well, Mother, you know how crazy those movie people are," Amanda said.

Dotty shook her head. "Crazy movie people" was not going to get her daughter off the hook. Dotty folded her arms across her chest and said, "Amanda, what _is_ the problem?" She couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't crazy movie people her daughter was worried about, but _one_ crazy movie person.

"Mother, have you ever thought about living someplace else?" Amanda said trying to sound upbeat as she attempted to prep her mother for the fact that they might have to be relocated for their safety.

"Yes, sure," Dotty said wondering where she was going with this? Had her man finally decided that he was ready to settle down and Amanda was struggling with making a decision as she had with Dean? "In fact, just the other day, I saw this wonderful English Tudor right over on-"

Amanda's voice overlapped her mother's as she said, "No, no, no, I mean...maybe...I don't know...another part of the country, you know?" She then spied the globe on the coffee table, pointed to it and said, "California, maybe. "It's nice there all year. It never gets cold. Or...uh...maybe if you'd like something a little slower-paced and less hectic, well, how about...um Idaho, someplace like that?"

This time it was Dotty's voice overlapping Amanda's. "Amanda..." When her daughter's ramble stopped, she said, "Amanda, have you taken leave of your senses? I mean, how could you even consider such a thing in the middle of the school year?" When Amanda just nodded, she said, "You know, you have been acting very strange since your last visit to Dr. Goodman last..." she paused and a worried look crossed her face. "Is it something serious?"

"Is what serious?" Amanda asked worriedly hoping that her very observant mother hadn't begun to put the pieces together. After all, she watched the same show that she had.

"The diagnosis, Dr. Goodman's," Dotty demanded irritated by her daughter acting obtuse.

"Mother, no, I'm not sick. I just thought maybe a little change in our lives..."

"Amanda, you have never welcomed change in your entire life," Dotty fired back.

"That doesn't mean I'm sick," Amanda said. Dotty was about to reply when they were interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. Amanda immediately jumped up and said, "I'll get it," but her mother held up a hand to stop her.

After Amanda had spent less than a minute on the phone and then went rushing out again, using the headache excuse again, Dotty said to herself. "I think I will call Dr. Goodman." Her daughter's strange behavior had put another thought in her mind to go along with the idea that she was struggling with the idea of settling down with her mystery man. Maybe the reason she was struggling with it was because she'd found out on her last appointment that she was expecting and maybe that was the only reason that the man was willing to marry her. _Or worse,_ she thought._ M_aybe he _wasn't _willing to take responsibility and her desire to move away was to get away from him.

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After a minute or so of debating with Amanda repeatedly telling him to take his belt off and her finally explaining why, Lee leaned slightly pushing his hips her direction. "All right, here," he growled. "All right, come on."

"I have to take it..." her voice trailed off as she thought of all the times she'd done that under different circumstances.

"Yes, you have to..." he stopped as well, memories flooding through him of how many times she'd savagely stripped him of his belt.

After some awkward one-handed fumbling, including an accidental move of her hand in the wrong place causing Lee to twitch, she finally succeeded in removing his belt and freeing them from the nearing flames, but note the flames of desire building between them as both knew instinctively what the other was thinking, but there was no time for that now.

Once the bad guys were in the hands of the local PD, Lee and Amanda had a good chuckle over the ruins of the fake money. "Oh, Amanda," he said with a good-natured laugh at her comment about it. He reached for her hand a pulled them both to their feet. The simple contact jolted both of them. While the building's fire may have been put out, the building fire between them had not been. Lee glanced around and used his grip on Amanda's hand to pull her back into the building through a door on the opposite side of where firefighters were poking though through the debris.

"Lee," Amanda whispered as adrenaline still pumped through her, combined with the fears she'd had that she may no longer have him in her life and the ever-present desire and overwhelming love she had for him. She knew without him saying a word, just why he'd pulled her in here.

Lee found a spot hidden by barrels and boxes where they'd have a moment of privacy, pressed her against the wall, nuzzled her neck lightly and whispered in her ear, "Take _your_ belt off."

"All right, here," she said in a low voice as she pushed her hips against him.

"I have to take it..." He said with a mischievous grin.

"Yes, you have to," she whispered back, both of them keeping their voices low so as not to be heard by the firefighters on the other side of the building.

Lee complied, not only loosening her belt, but her pants as well, quickly slipping his hand inside to touch her. Amanda bit down on her lip to keep from crying out at the contact, excitement racing through her at his touch, but also at the idea that they could be caught at any moment. They were far away from the damage done by the fire, but all it would take would be for one person to hear them to send the local blues of the fire department their way.

"Amanda," Lee whispered as he worked loose the buttons on her blouse, lowering his mouth to the exposed skin there while he continued to stroke her and slipped one finger into her. "God, you're already wet," he murmured against her skin.

"For you, only for you," she whispered back, then clamping her mouth shut and biting down on her lower lip to keep herself from crying out at the pleasure he was giving her. She reached for the button on his pants, quickly opening it, followed by his zipper. She was not content with him just touching her. She needed to feel him inside her, filling her again. This book fiasco had caused her to come so close to losing him forever, she wanted to savor every moment she could with him.

"OH," Lee groaned involuntarily as Amanda touched him through he thin material of his boxers. He needed her so badly and the fact that Harriman's exposé could have taken her away from him bothered him more than he liked to admit. He knew the job was dangerous and that she could be hurt in the line of duty, which was why he worked so hard to protect her and keep her out of the more hazardous side of it, but something like this that they hadn't expected, had completely thrown him for a loop. Pausing in his actions, he pushed back from her long enough to push her pants and underwear down.

"Wait," she said softly as she stepped out of her heels, followed by her pants, then reached to push his boxers down as well, not wanting to wait another minute to have him again.

"I need you," Lee said hoarsely as he cupped her face and looked into her eyes to see them filled with the same need that he knew was in his own.

"I know," she answered as she clasped one hand behind his head to pull him back to her.

Lee followed her lead, joining his mouth with hers as he lifted her leg to his hip to join their bodies as well, pushing her back up against the wall as he pushed into her slowly, their mutual cries of pleasure muffled by their kisses. Amanda clutched his butt tightly with her free hand to urge him on. While the pace had begun slowly, their unspoken love for each other fueled their desire, causing it to escalate quickly, both knowing what the other couldn't out into words as they gripped each other tightly. Lee pushed into her harder and faster, while Amanda, bracing her back against the wall pushed against him while she tugged on his rear to keep him driving into her. Their need for each other and the fact that they knew they could be caught any time, kept them both going at a furious pace. Lee, feeling that he was about to lose it without taking her with him, squeezed his free hand between them to stroke her just as furiously until he felt her clenching around him, swallowing her muffled cries with his mouth on hers as he erupted inside her. He had to brace one hand on the wall behind her to steady himself as his legs nearly buckled with the force of his climax as he moaned into her mouth, his shaking finally too much as he collapsed to hard concrete floor, his grip on her hip pulling her with him. They lay there for a moment, panting and gasping for breath sharing heated kisses, clinging to each other as if they'd never have another moment like this.

Lee broke their kiss, cupped her face in his, let out a deep sigh and said, "We have got to stop doing this."

"What?" Amanda said startled, as she pulled out of his embrace, rose and reached for her underwear and pants, quickly pulled them back on, and then straightened her blouse. She turned away from his as she stepped back into her heels, trying to keep tears of disappointment from forming.

"Amanda, don't," Lee growled as he got to his feet and pulled up his own pants, knowing by her reaction that she'd misunderstood him. He placed his hands on her shoulders and was startled himself when she flinched under his touch.

"No, it's okay, Lee," she said softly as she pulled away from him. "I've heard all the talk. I know that you always eventually get tired of any women you're with. "To be honest, from all the rumors I've heard, I'm amazed that this thing between us has already lasted more than a year."

Lee sighed in frustration, clasped her arm and turned her to face him. "Amanda, listen to me. I didn't mean it the way that it sounded, that I wanted to stop this...this...whatever this thing is between us. God, I can't put into words how much I love making love to you." He swallowed hard, trying not to let his feelings get the better of him. "I just meant the way things always seem to happen. It always seems to be some weird place when we're both hopped up on adrenaline or scared we're about to die. Just once, I'd like to do this the normal way. Just once, I'd like to have you in my bed, to spend a whole night with you. Look at what just happened." He gestured to the floor they'd just risen from. "I'm going to have a major bruise on my ass now."

Amanda couldn't help but laugh at his words and said, "Yeah, I bet you are." Her laughter subsided as the seriousness of his earlier words had an impact. "As for spending a whole night together, as nice as that idea sounds, I don't think it would be a good idea. I mean, we keep calling our...um...encounters...a...a...thing, but what is it really? Are we friend? Lovers? Are we in a...a relationship? Am I your...your...girlfriend?" she said her voice tinged with hope.

Lee ran a hand through his hair, knowing how he thought of it, but not ready to admit it to her because that would open a can of worms he wasn't ready to open because that would in turn open him up to the potential of facing another devastating loss. Instead, he said, "I don't know. I don't know, okay? I do know that we're friends and obviously we've become lovers many times over." He sighed again when she looked at him expectantly. "Look, why do we have to put a label on it at all? Why can't we just enjoy if for what it is? Two people with an intense attraction to each who use that attraction to give each other what we both need."

"Ah," Amanda said dejectedly.

"Come on, Amanda, you can't tell me that you haven't wanted this or enjoyed this just as much as I have."

"Oh, no, you're right, I have. I...I just...um...I'm starting to feel as if I'm just another name in your black book," Amanda said.

"No, Amanda, you're not. In fact, your name's not even in my black book. You...you mean so much more to me than that. "Aw, hell, I don't know what to call it either. I just know that you're the only woman that I've been to bed with in over a year, since that first time in the helicopter. Well, if you can call it that since we've never actually made it to a bed."

"Oh?"Amanda said curiously, not quite believing her ears.

"Yeah, there I said it. Are you happy now? It's not for lack of trying either. I've been on a lot of dates since then, but every time things started heating up, I just kept thinking of you and I...I couldn't go through with it." He sighed again and said, "But you can't say the same, can you?"

"What? How can you ask me that? Do you really think that I'm the type to sleep around? Like you just said, I'm not one of the names in your black book."

"Oh?" he asked with an arched eyebrow, "Then what about Don?"

"Lee, you know very well that his name is Dean and that part of my relationship was over with him after that first time in the helicopter too."

"You mean you never...? After me, I mean?"

"No, he...he tried, but I...I just couldn't. I mean, every time he touched me, I...I just kept thinking of you too."

"Hmmm, so...uh...if we're both...you know, thinking of each other when we're with...other people where does that leave us?"

"I...Um...I wish I knew," Amanda said.

Before their conversation could continue, they were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. "Let's get the hell out of here," Lee said reaching for her hand and pulling her behind him out of the building as both of their minds raced furiously over the possibilities.


	27. People Who Care About Each Other

**Chapter 27-People Who Care About Each Other**

"Affair At Bromfield Hall"

Lee was trying as hard as he could to keep his temper in check as he ranted about the assignment he was on, concluding with, "And what do you do? You end up in the middle of a sex scandal."

"I am _not_ in the middle of a sex scandal," Amanda said adamantly. "I don't even know that man!"

"That man happens to be Lord Ralph Bromfield. He's not only a peer of the realm; he's an undersecretary at the foreign office."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know that. I don't know _him_!" She sighed in frustration and said, Look, how can that newspaper, call me...Uh..." She lowered her voice to w whisper, "...his mistress."

"What are you whispering for? It's made every rag in town."

"It didn't make _The Times_," Amanda countered.

"Oh? Is that something to be grateful for?" Lee said sarcastically.

"At least the paper said I was the secretary to the president of AnaCord electronics, so it...uh...makes your cover legitimate?"

"What's that, the bright side?"

"NO, there isn't any bright side," Amanda replied. "Millions of people that I know even know think I'm a..."

"Bimbette," Lee finished for her, amusement dancing in his eyes.

"That's not funny. That really isn't funny," Amanda said. When he continued to laugh, she said, "That's really not funny at all, Lee. Now, suppose Mother reads this. I mean, the story could get picked up in the states,

"Amanda..." Lee began, but Amanda continued to ramble.

"Mother, could read it, or Phillip and Jamie could read it and I'm not even there to explain and I..."

"It's not going to make the paper back in the states," Lee interrupted firmly

"You don't know that," Amanda argued.

"I _do_ know that," Lee said forcefully. When Amanda finally stopped talking and looked at him quizzically, he added, "I called in a few favors."

"Oh," Amanda said with a warm smile at him, deeply touched by the gesture. "You did that for me?"

"Yep," Lee said smiling back at her.

"Thank you," she said still smiling at him.

"Forget about it, okay?" He said as he reached for her, placing his hand on the small of her back. "Come on. We'll grab a cup of tea to settle your nerves a little bit, and then we can..."

Lee watched with some amusement at Amanda's shying away from the approaching couple. After arguing with her for a moment about cutting her losses and leaving, he realized that he wasn't going to win until they at least attempted to approach Lord Bromfield himself.

An hour later, they were finally having their tea while Lord Bromfield explained his stance, how he could understand where the press got their ideas and laid out his solution to the problem. Lee was thinking it was a great idea until the invitation for the weekend was extended to him as well. He argued that he had work to do.

"No, I think it's important, you see," Lord Bromfield argued, "because if the two of you were seen together, it might appear as if you were more than employer and secretary."

Lee and Amanda looked at each other at first nervously, but then Lee couldn't help but smile slightly as he thought of all of the times that they'd been close, causing Amanda to smile back. They silently locked eyes for just a moment, a mutual silent acknowledgement of their underlying desire for each other clear on both of their faces, before turning back to Lord Bromfield. "But we aren't," Amanda said, just as Lee began a denial of his own, "I mean, we're not."

"And neither are we, Mrs. King," Lord Bromfield replied pointedly. As the conversation continued with Lee and Amanda both trying to get him out of the weekend engagement so he could work his case. At seeing the looks passing between his companions, he said pointedly, "I presume, Sir, that you have some concern for the reputation of Mrs. King." It was apparent to him, that in spite of their denials, the pair in front of him were indeed lovers, although, it appeared that they were trying to be discreet about their private relationship. When lee finally conceded, he said, "Splendid." He looked on at the two for another moment taking in the looks they were giving one another and added, "Well, I shall see you tomorrow then. A nice quiet weekend in the country should put everything to rights."

The following day at the Bromfield estate, Amanda began stewing about the situation again after it was bluntly brought to her attention again by Errol Pridemore. "A sex scandal," she muttered.

"Forget it, okay? It's not your fault. I mean, nobody who knows you is going to believe it. I mean, _you_, in the middle of a sex scandal. All you need to do is take one look to know it's ridiculous."

"Why?" Amanda said getting irritated by his comments.

"Why what?"Lee asked as they walked to his rental car.

"Why is it ridiculous?" Amanda demanded. After all the times that they'd spent taking pleasure in each other, he should know better than anyone that she wasn't who she appeared to be to the outside world.

"Amanda..."

"Just because it isn't true, doesn't make it ridiculous," Amanda continued.

"Look, why are we having this ridiculous conversation?"

"I think we're having this ridiculous conversation because you said it was ridiculous that I should-"

"alright, alright, alright," Lee said, stepping in front of her as they reached his car, stopping her in her tracks. When he had her full attention, he said pointedly. "You're sleeping with Lord Bromfield, how's that?"

"Huh," Amanda snorted, "Ridiculous."

"That's right," Lee said triumphantly, having made his point. While he'd spent many moments learning that underneath that wholesome exterior, she was a very passionate lover, he already knew after their conversation of a week or so ago, that she wasn't the type to sleep around and especially not with a married man. Besides, that he felt a bit of smug satisfaction at her confession that she hadn't thought of giving herself to anyone but him since their non-relationship had begun even when she'd had a boyfriend. "It's ridiculous."

Amanda nodded in response, getting what he was really saying as he prepared to leave to get back to the case. His efforts were soon interrupted by the falling urn, his life saved by Amanda's quick thinking. He had protested Amanda's insistence that he see a doctor, however, once back inside the house, their hosts for the weekend had insisted.

Later when Lee had insisted that he was fine, he also insisted that they continue with their weekend plans as if nothing had happened. After dressing in his tux for the evening party, he knocked on Amanda's door to escort her to the soiree, his breath catching in his throat as the stunning black evening gown she wore and the way in hugged her curves in all the right places. He cleared his throat and stammered, "You...um...are you...um...about ready?"

Amanda smiled at his nervousness, her choice in formalwear a deliberate attempt to get his attention, elated that it had achieved the desired effect. "Almost," she said. "I was just putting on the finishing touches. I need my earrings." She closed the door behind him and made her way to the room's vanity reaching for the small jewelry case on its surface, but Lee's hand connected with hers before she could as he snake the other hand around her waist from behind.

"You look beautiful without them," Lee murmured into her ear. "Beside if you're wearing them, I can't do this." He brushed her hair aside and lightly nipped at her earlobe as he tugged on her waist pulling her tightly against him, delighting at watching in the mirror as her facial expression changed. He'd been dying to get her alone since this whole trip had begun. After the honesty of their last conversation about their status, his desire for her had only increased with the knowledge that she hadn't been with anyone but him. He lowered his mouth to her neck, then her nearly bare shoulder. He pulled back from her long enough to reach for the zipper on her dress, sliding it down her back, trailing kisses down every inch of smooth skin that he exposed while he used his hands to push the tiny straps from her shoulders.

Amanda sighed at the contact of his lips on her skin as she felt her gown poling at her feet. "Lee," she whispered as her deep desire for him was inflamed by his touch. It felt as if he were everywhere at once, one hand on her hip, the other, reaching for her bared breast, his mouth warming her skin with his kisses and his hot breath. She relished the sensations that he invoked in her with the way he touched her, her all-consuming love for him only adding more fuel to the flames.

"I wanna' make love to you," Lee said in a throaty whisper against her back.

Amanda turned to face him, tugged at his bowtie to loosen it and whispered back, "You're terribly overdressed for that," working quickly to rectify that situation, his jacket, shirt and tie soon joining her dress on the floor. She then trailed kisses down his chest as her hands roamed over his bare back, pausing when she reached his butt and squeezing it firmly, before moving her hands to work his pants open, quickly slipping them inside to touch him as she continued to work her mouth lower.

Lee clasped her hands in his and said, "No, not this time," as he stepped out of his shoes, kicked his pants and boxers aside and backed her up against the vanity to a seated position. He hooked his fingers in the side of her panties dragging them down her legs as she kicked off her heels. He parted her legs, then dropped to his knees in front of her, trailing soft, reverent kisses up the inside of her thigh until he reached his true destination.

"Oh," Amanda cried out, throwing her head back against the mirror as Lee's mouth worked furiously, licking and suckling her, his tongue occasionally dipping inside her where she wanted him to be. She felt the pressure build only to subside when he would shift positions and then begin all over again. "Lee, please," she cried as he teased her, only increasing her need for him.

Lee rewarded her for her plea for completion, finally taking her fully into his mouth, sucking hard until he felt her climax begin, and then quickly rose to her feet and plunged inside her, just as her trembling reached its peak. "OH," he groaned loudly as her spasms around him only further drove his desperate desire for her. The sound of her crying out his name spurred him on as he pushed into her again and again, needing his own completion, knowing that he could only find that true completion with her. While he'd had some great sex in his time, nothing compared to his time with Amanda, to being wither her. Since meeting her, for the first time in his life, he knew what it was like to truly make love to a woman, to have her make love to him in return. He found himself crying out her name as she was crying out his,

"LEE!"Amanda shrieked as she felt him moving within her. She clasped his butt tightly to encourage him, arching her back and pushing her hips toward him to and urge him deeper inside her. No man had ever filled her the way that he did or could make her feel as much as he did.

"God, Amanda," Lee gasped out in a hoarse voice, his breathing harsh and heavy as he pumped his essence into her shaking against her as she shook against him. He buried his face in her neck, planting warm, wet kisses against her skin while Amana wrapped her arms around his neck as they rode out their release together.

They both stilled and stayed locked like that, for a moment just holding each other until their bodies cooled and breathing slowed. Amanda was the first to break the silence by saying, "So, do you think this is ridiculous?"

Lee pulled his head back from her neck, laughed and said, "No, This is...it's...it's far from ridiculous. In fact, it's the most sensible thing I've ever done."

Amanda smiled and was about to say something else when they were interrupted by a loud knocking on her door. She sighed at the interruption, pushed on Lee's shoulders and scrambled for her dress, quickly pulling it back on when Lady Witherspoon's voice sounded on the other side of the door. "Is everything okay in there?"

"Crap," Lee muttered under his breath, having forgotten in his need for Amanda that her room was right next door to the biggest busybody in the place.

"Yes, everything's fine," Amanda called back as she made her way to the door, opening it just a crack so the other woman wouldn't see that she was not alone or that her dress was still unzipped.

"What was that dreadful noise I just heard," Lady Witherspoon asked with a bemused expression, already knowing the answer.

"Oh, I'm...um...I just slammed into the vanity and..um...knocked everything all over the place. I'm a bit clumsy, you see," Amanda covered quickly. "I...um...I should finish getting ready. I'll see you at the party." Not giving the nosy older woman a chance to respond, she quickly closed the door and leaned against it for a moment to find that Lee had disappeared and his clothes were gone from where they'd been dropped on the floor. "Lee?" she whispered.

"In here," Lee hissed from the bathroom. "I thought I should clean up a bit before we head to the party."

"Right," Amanda said. "Yeah, I should too," she added as she stepped into the bathroom.

"Probably not a bad idea," Lee said with a smirk.

As Amanda brushed by him, she glanced at his shoulder and said, "You know that really is an ugly bruise," as she placed a tender kiss to the spot.

"I'll be fine, Amanda," he said. While he was touched that she cared, he didn't care much for being mothered. He'd grown up without a mother and had gotten used to it and didn't want to get into the habit of having a woman looking after him because it never seemed to last.

Left alone outside in the hall, Lady Witherspoon grinned broadly, not for a moment believing Amanda's story about bumping into the vanity. She was more curious than ever about the story in the paper about her and their host. That is until, she saw the other subject of the newspaper article making his way down the hall toward her. She glanced at the closed door of Amanda's room, her curiosity burning as Lord Bromfield reached her. "Hello, Ralph, looking for your mistress?" she teased. "I'm afraid you're going to be quite disappointed, if you are. She's not...alone at the moment," she added with a suggestive leer.

"Come now, you know very well that she is not my mistress and she never has been. You're just looking for a juicy bit of gossip to entertain yourself with," He replied with a woeful look.

"Oh, well, I've got it now," she said patting him on the shoulder, then saying, "I'll just be going on to the party now."

Lord Bromfield shook his head and was just about to knock on Amanda's door when it was opened in front of him and Lee and Amanda emerged, apparently engaged in a bit of an argument.

"Amanda, would you just stop trying to mother me," Lee was saying. "I'm not one of your children."

Bromfield eyed the two of them and said, "I was just coming to see if you were ready."

"Yes," Amanda said closing the door as the three made their way down the hall. She then picked up her conversation with Lee saying, "Well, you really should be resting."

"Amanda, I am not Jamie," Lee said huffily. "I am not Phillip."

They were still talking about his near-death experience when preparing to attend the evening party as they entered the armory. They all conversed for a moment in the armory. Bromfield was convinced that Lee's attacker was the photographer that had been stalking, while Lee argued that it was out of character, while Amanda pointed out that the attacker must have been inside the house. Bromfield, noticing that Lee hedged when asked why he didn't believe it was Compson, changed the subject said, "Are you quite sure that you want to go to this wretched party, Mr. Stetson?"

"Oh, yes, yes, I'm looking forward to it," Lee answered with an affectionate smile at Amanda. What he was really looking forward to was the idea of getting her out on the dance floor of the large ballroom, just to hold her in his arms again.

Amanda smiled back at him, locking eyes with him, both lost in the moment as Lord Bromfield said, "Oh dear, I hate large parties. I can't think why Gwyneth insists upon having them." He glanced at Amanda, forcing her to take her eyes off Lee.

"Oh, I'm looking forward to it too," Amanda said with a smile and a nod at Lee who smiled back.

Bromfield couldn't help but notice the lingering looks between Lee and Amanda and wondered just how serious their love affair was and why they were trying so hard to hide it, "Oh, well," he said with a sigh. "In that case, we shall spend no more time in this dusty armory."

The next day as Lee and Amanda were discussing the murder of Compson, Lee looked at Amanda curiously at her assertion that Lady Bromfield was somehow involved.

"I just don't trust her," Amanda said firmly.

"I don't know what makes me ask this, but _why_ don't you trust her?"

"It's a feeling," Amanda said with a nod.

"Oh, that solid, huh?" Lee said sarcastically.

"I don't think she loves her husband."

"Amanda, she's been married to him for twelve years. She stood by him through this whole scandal."

"That's very nice, but I don't think she loves him."

"Amanda, no," Lee argued.

"Lee, there's just something about the way that she looks at him. There's nothing in her face when she looks at him. She just doesn't look like she loves him." As Amanda continued to ramble on about the woman's lack of feeing for her husband and how people who love each other want to touch each other and be close to one another, demonstrating by clasping Lee's hands in hers causing him to lock eyes with her. She quickly released his hands, turned from the intensity of his gaze and said, "She doesn't touch him."

As they walked together, Lee just out of habit, put his arm around her until Amanda looked back at him, then quickly removed his arm as her words really began to sink in about how people who loved each other wanted to touch each other.

Once the case was closed and Amanda was surprised to hear Lee say, "He's in love."

"You noticed that, huh?" she said with a smile.

Lee smiled back as Amanda rambled about him not noticing things like that. He had indeed noticed by the look on Lord Bromfield's face when he looked at his wife. He's seen the same look on his own face in the mirror when he'd been in Amanda's room. He knew without a doubt that he was just as in love himself. He thought about telling her, but still hesitated because of the way she'd reacted to his arm around her. Instead, he simply said, "I noticed." He gazed at her with a smile then continued talking about the case they'd just closed, but internally admiring the way she looked in the blue pantsuit she wore, the same one that he'd bought her on their last trip to England to replace her missing wardrobe. He'd actually suggested it to her when they'd been shopping. He loved the way she looked in blue.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once back at home, Amanda was startled to hear her mother saying, "Amanda, did you know that your picture's in the paper?"

"What?" Amanda said worriedly, hoping that Lee's favors had kept the sex scandal out of the US papers.

"Right there," Dotty said showing it to her.

Amanda glanced at it and upon seeing it was the last one that had been snapped of her, Lee and Lord Bromfield, all three covering their faces with their hands, said, "Oh, Mother, that's a terrible pictures. You can't even tell who's really in it."

"Please, Amanda, that's very clearly you. You're even wearing that navy blue suit that you like so much. My question is, who are the two men with you? I know one of them is this Lord Bromfield mentioned in the article, but who's the other one?"

"Oh, he's...um..."Amanda hedged.

"Your secret lover?" Her mother suggested. When Amanda didn't' answer, she took her silence for confirmation and took the paper back from her, pushing her reading glasses up and said, "It's just such a pity that he has his hand covering his face. Just once I'd like to get a good look at this man you're so taken with."

"Mother, my relationship with him is private and I'd very much like to keep it that way," Amanda said as she quickly exited the room to avoid further questions.

"Suit yourself, Dear," Dotty said to her daughter's retreating form as she perused the paper, rereading the article for any mention of the man's name and closely examined the picture for any details that she might have overlooked. Her curiosity was definitely piqued about the man who'd captured her daughter's heart.


	28. Taking A Ride

**Chapter 28-Taking a Ride**

"Charity Begins At Home"

Shortly after Lee had left Billy's office after trying to come up with a game plan to get into the car show, he was accosted by Francine who roughly grabbed his arm and dragged him into the corridor outside the bullpen. "Francine, what the hell are you doing? he said as he wriggled out of her grasp. He wondered what she was up to as she'd been shooting daggers at him with her eyes since Amanda had walked into Billy's office and had continued it long after she'd left.

"That's exactly what I want to know. Just what the hell are _you_ doing?" she demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lee said as he tried to push past her back into the bullpen.

"Oh, I think you do," Francine said pushing both hands against his chest to stop him from bolting. She then lowered her voice to a barely audible whisper, "You slept with Amanda."

"What?"Lee said a little too loudly causing a passerby to stare. "Nothing to see here, Pal," he grumbled. He then grabbed Francine firmly by the arm to the alcove across from the elevator away from prying eyes and ears. "Look, Francine, I don't know where you get your information-"

"Don't even try to deny it," Francine said sharply, cutting him off poking him hard in the chest with one well-manicured finger. "I saw the looks that were passing between the two of you when she walked in. She was looking at you with that shy schoolgirl smile, the slight blush in her cheeks, plus she made a point of saying hello to you specifically."

"Francine-" Lee began but was once again cut off by Francine.

"Then there was you when she left. I saw the way you watched her walk away with that smug, smarmy, revolting, "I got me a piece of that" look on your face."

Lee fidgeted nervously and said, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't I? Come on, Lee, I know that look all too well. I don't know what you think you're doing, but you'd better watch yourself. Amanda's not the kind of woman you can just play house with and then buy off with a bouquet. She takes playing house a whole lot more seriously than the other women in your life."

"Look, Francine, none of this is any of your damn business. My private life is just that, private!"

"So, you admit it," She said hotly.

"No," Lee replied. "All I'm saying is that if I had slept with her, and I'm not saying that I did, but _if_ I had, that's nobody's business but mine and hers."

"Not until you break her poor, fragile little spirit and it gets all over the office that the simple housewife has become just another notch on your bedpost."

"Okay, first of all. Amanda's not fragile, far from it. She's one of the strongest people that I know and second, she is a hell of a lot more than a simple housewife," Lee said feeling the need to defend Amanda against Francine's sharply pointed barbs. "In fact, she's the most complicated damn woman that I've ever met. If you'd ever stop looking down your nose at her long enough to get to know her, she just might surprise you." He walked away, not giving her a chance to get another dig in.

Amanda sat on the couch reviewing her notes and receipts from the fundraiser while her mother rambled on about the arrest of Jerry Perrine as she tried to stay nonchalant about it.

"Mrs. Coleman must have been beside herself," Dotty said gleefully.

Amanda chuckled as she recalled how the drunken woman passed out at the bar and said, "Oh, yes, Mother, Mrs. Coleman was definitely beside herself."

"Well, tell me all about it," Dotty gushed.

"Well, there's not really that much I can tell you," Amanda hedged, knowing she couldn't betray the agency's secrets. She wondered what her mother's reaction would be if she knew that her own daughter had been one of the agents involved in the arrests as she smiled quietly.

"Amanda, you're not much for details, are you?" She thought about how her daughter adamantly refused to divulge any personal details about her mystery relationship and the man involved. She thought for a moment of asking about him again, but knew she'd just be shot down again. Amanda was very tight-lipped when it came to her lover. She knew from her behavior that the love affair was still ongoing, but she couldn't understand why she was so reluctant to talk about it. She decided to focus on the new mystery instead, saying, "I am going to go upstairs and watch it all on the eleven o'clock news." She then stepped into the den, kissed her daughter and said, "Wish you could tell me more," in a tone that clearly indicated she was talking about more than just Jerry Perrine's arrest.

"Me too, Mother," Amanda said as she longed for the day that her secrets would all be out in the open.

They said their good-nights and Dotty chuckled softly as she heard a familiar tapping on the window as she made her way upstairs that she'd come to learn signaled the arrival of her daughter's paramour. She thought about doing an about-face to try to get a sneak peek at him again, but thought better of it. Every time, she'd tried that in the past, he'd just disappeared, as if into thin air.

Amanda stepped out through the French doors to find Lee with a bright smile, holding up a kay, "Oh," she said with a smile.

Lee beamed and said, "I picked it up today. "Oh, it pulls the road right up and corners like a track racer." He clasped her hands very briefly in his excitement.

"You got a new car," Amanda said with a nod as she smiled back at him, his giddy smile filing her with usual heady sensation that his smile always did.

"Yeah, and it's great," he said excitedly. He then chuckled awkwardly, now thinking that his trip over here had been a bad idea. He'd been so excited about his new ride and his first thought was to share it with the woman he loved, but now he wasn't so sure. "Anyway, I was testing it out and I...sort of...um...wound up over here," he said nervously.

"Oh," Amanda said with another nod, amused by his sudden bout of nerves.

Lee tried to backpedal as fast as he could in order to keep his intense feelings for her under wraps, suddenly having lost his courage now that he was face to face with her. "And...uh...Well, I mean...uh...you know...you were...you were there when I lost the other one and I thought maybe...uh..." _Stupid,_ he scolded himself. _Why can't you just come right out and ask her to go for a ride with you?_

"Oh, well, you know, I'm really glad you came over and told me about it and maybe sometime, I'll get to take a ride in it," she hinted to ease his nerves, knowing that that was exactly what he was trying to ask her.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, count on it," Lee said, his smile a little too enthusiastic for his liking. "I mean...uh...we will be working on another assignment."

"Right," Amanda said, hoping that wasn't the end of it. When Lee was quiet, she smiled at him and hinted again. "I'll count on it," pleased when Lee smiled back and didn't seem ready to move from his spot. They locked eyes, beaming at each other, both wary of making the next move. Amanda finally decided she was going to have to be the one to end their standoff. "You know...um...we don't have to wait until the next time that we work an assignment together."

"No?" Lee said hopefully.

"No. I mean...um...I'm sure you need to properly break it in, right? Get a feel for it?"

"Yeah, right," Lee said thinking that that wasn't the only thing that he wanted to get a feel for. He'd been thinking about it ever since her attempts to warm him up after she'd rescued him from the freezer. He'd tried to push those thoughts to the back of his mind, but the more he did, the more he thought how much simply being in her presence warmed him from head to toe. "So...uh...does that mean...you're...uh...up for it?" He glanced toward the driveway.

"Sure...Um...I mean, if you are. It's not like anybody here needs me right now. The boys are in bed and my mother's upstairs watching the news, so I'm...um...free."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," Amanda answered as she linked her arm with his. "Come on."

Lee willingly took her arm and they walked down the driveway together toward the shiny new, silver Corvette parked at the curb. "What do you think? Isn't she a beauty?" He said with smile, thinking more about the beauty beside him.

"Yes, she certainly is," Amanda agreed as he opened the door for her.

Lee helped her into the car, closed the door firmly behind her, then quickly made his way to the driver's side to climb in beside her. He smiled at her warmly before starting the car and putting in gear, peeling away from the curb slowly so as not to attract the attention of her neighbors.

As Amanda sat back, enjoying the ride as Lee expertly navigated her neighborhood streets, she couldn't help noticing that he had both hands on the wheel. "This one's an automatic," she commented in surprise.

"Yes, it is," Lee confirmed.

"Huh," she said, "Why the switch?"

"An automatic will be a little more convenient for chasing bad guys," Lee answered, then added with a teasing grin, "...especially with a partner who doesn't know how to drive a stick shift."

Amanda laughed and said, "Yeah, I never was very good at driving stick."

"Oh, I don't know," Lee said with a mirthful grin at her, feeling a lot more relaxed now that he had her beside him. "I suppose that depends on your meaning."

"Eyes on the road, Scarecrow," Amanda said as a warm flush spread across her cheeks, suddenly feeling very glad that it was dark and he wouldn't be able to clearly see her blushing.

Lee laughed, and then feeling bolder, said, "There is another advantage to having an automatic."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"I can do this," He answered as he removed his right hand from the wheel to clasp her left and brought it to his lips.

"Oh," Amanda sighed at the contact. "That's definitely an advantage." She linked her fingers with his as they continued their ride.

"I'm glad you think so," Lee said, his smile widening at the gentle pressure of her hand in his.

They rode along in a companionable silence, just enjoying one another's company until they were out of the city where Lee stepped on the gas, once they were traveling along the same two-lane roads that had led to the demise of his beloved Porsche. Lee pulled the 'vette to stop in front of the same embankment it had fallen from.

"What are we doing _here_?" Amanda asked recognizing the spot as he released her hand to put the car in park.

"Two things," Lee said as he got out of the car, hastily making his way to her door to open it for her, helped her out and then proceeded to the trunk.

Amanda watched as he pulled a blanket and a small ice chest out of the trunk. "What is that and what two things are you talking about?" she asked curiously.

Lee took her hand with his free one and led her to the precipice where they stood earlier and watched the Porsche erupt into a ball of flames, both of them looking down for a moment. "The first is to say good-bye, he said with a nod over the edge. He released her hand, spread the blanket out of the ground in front of his new car, and then opened the ice chest, pulling out a chilled bottle of champagne and two glasses. "The second is to celebrate," he said with a nod to the 'vette. He popped the cork, poured them each a glass, handing one to her, before parking on the blanket and tugging on her hand to get her to join him.

"So, what should we drink to?" she said as they leaned against the front of the 'vette looking out over the chasm below.

"As cliché' as it sounds, how about, out with the old, in with the new," Lee suggested with a warm smile. That perfectly described how he'd felt since meeting her. The more time he spent in her company, the more he felt his old life slipping away and something new taking hold.

"I don't think that sounds cliché at all. In fact, I think it's very fitting," Amanda replied mirroring his smile, knowing without him saying anything that he was talking about more that changing cars. "I'll drink to that," she added as she clinked her glass with his and they both sipped at their champagne.

Lee draped his right arm across her shoulder and felt exhilaration sweep over him as she leaned her head against his shoulder in response, her left hand patting his leg. He was grinning like a fool and knew he must look completely stupid to an outside observer, but he felt happier than he could have ever imagined in just sharing this with her. Being able to sit there with her in a comfortable silence filled him with a sense of peace that he'd never known before.

Lee sipped at his champagne thoughtfully as he thought about his words to her, that you don't love a car. He'd never imagined he'd ever say that. The Porsche had been the love of his life for a long time, but since meeting Amanda and learning what it felt like to truly love, he realized he'd been thinking all wrong about it. His love for her consumed his whole being. He then reflected on his words to Francine about surprising her and thought about he was continually surprised by her. When he'd driven to her house tonight, he'd fully intended to ask her to take this ride with him, had prepared for it with the blanket and the champagne, but then had chickened out. Almost, as if reading his mind, she'd invited herself along for a ride linking her arm with his to urge him toward the car, giving no thought to the fact that she was dressed for bed. He glanced at her for a moment, her cotton nightgown peeking out through the opening of her blue terry cloth robe and chuckled softly.

"What?" she said.

"Oh, I was just thinking, we left your place so fast and I...uh...I should have let you take the time to get dressed." Not that he minded. Even in the plain bathrobe, she still looked ravishing in blue.

"I don't mind," Amanda said. "If I did, I would have said something. Besides, it's not as if you haven't seen me in this before...and even less," she added with a mischievous grin as she ran her hand along the inside of his thigh.

Lee swallowed hard, her hand on his leg stirring the fire he felt for her and replied in a hoarse whisper, "That's true." He chugged the rest of his champagne, feeling as if he could use a little liquid courage right about now with what she was doing to him, setting the empty glass aside.

"In fact..." she said as she put her own glass down, then moved into his lap, planting one leg on each side of his, "...you've taken this nightgown off of me a couple of times now.' She then reached for the leather jacket he wore, to push it from his shoulders, but was stopped by his back against the car.

Lee leaned forward to assist in her efforts allowing her to remove his jacket. He let her take the lead, dying to see how she would surprise him tonight. He then felt her hands sliding under his tee, tugging on the bottom of it. He obligingly raised his arms so that she could pull it over his head and toss it aside. She followed this by trailing her hands from his shoulders to his chest, lightly nipping at his neck with her teeth and her fingernails grazed his nipples, teasing him as she rocked her hips against his. He was aching to touch her, but held back wanting to see where she would take this. He'd never enjoyed letting a woman take charge the way that he did with her. He's always wanted to the the one in control, but the way he felt about her made him feel so out of control that it felt completely comfortable to let her lead. "Amanda," he whispered softly as she took one of his nipples into her mouth, alternating between laving it with her tongue and rolling it between her teeth. He gasped in surprise when out of nowhere, she bit down harder that he would have expected her to.

She raised her head, smiled at him sweetly and said, "Too much?"

"No,. Just the opposite," He said suggestively. "I don't think I could ever get too much of you." He then gripped her hips tightly pulling her roughly against him wanting her to feel what she'd done to him, to know how painfully erect she'd made him.

It was Amanda's turn to gasp as his movement, her desire for him only escalated at feeling how hard he was, longing to feel that hardness inside her. "Lee," she hissed as he reached for the tie on her robe and pushed it from her shoulders, and then tugged at the bottom of her nightgown to yank it over her head. She locker her arms behind his head and kissed him feverishly, pressing her bare breasts against the solidity of his chest, reveling in the feel of his bare skin next to hers.

Lee groaned against her as her tongue darted into his mouth, relishing how it felt to be so close to her. They kissed for a long moment as their hands roamed and she pushed her pelvis against him while he pushed his up against her. They broke apart, both gasping for breath at the intensity of their kisses. Lee looked into her eyes seeing the passion burning there for him that he knew his own eyes reflected back at her. Needing more, he grasped her hands to urge her to her feet, picked up her discarded robe, laid it across the hood of his new car, the swept her around to lay her atop it. He then reached for the sides of her panties, yanking them down her legs.

"Not again," Amanda moaned as she heard the tearing of fabric. "Lee, you've got to stop-" Her words were cut off by her own moans as Lee's mouth descended between her legs, suckling hard on the sensitive nub there. "Lee!" she cried as he dove in, lapping and sucking at her, leaving her trembling under his onslaught. Before she'd had time to recover from her fierce orgasm, she heard the rasp of his zipper and then he was inside her, his wet mouth on her neck suckling at the tender pulse point as he pushed into her repeatedly. She could do nothing but hang on for dear life, clutching at him, digging her nails into his back. "Oh, Lee," she whispered.

"Amanda," he growled against her as he plunged into her as deep as he could, the elation of getting his new car paling in comparison to the elation he felt at making love to her, feeling her beneath him, her muscles clenching around him and hearing her calling out his name repeatedly. He wanted that feeling to last forever, but all too soon, he was screaming her name, engulfed in flames hotter and brighter than those that had destroyed his Porsche. He braced himself with his hands on the hood of the "vette to prevent himself from falling on top of her as the last vestiges of his climax hit him.

"Wow," Amanda said softly.

"Yeah," he replied as he tried to get control of his heavy breathing and his pounding heart.

Amanda gave him a wicked grin and quipped, "Talk about properly breaking in your new car."

Lee laughed heartily, kissed her soundly and replied, "Well, it had to be done." With a low groan, he pulled back from her and stood. "You know, it's getting late. I should probably get you home."

"Yeah, you're right. If my mother notices that I'm gone, she'll start asking all kinds of questions that I'm not prepared to answer." She slid off the hood of the car, reached for her nightgown, and pulled it over her head while Lee put his own clothes back on.

"Why? You said she already knows about me, right?"

"Just vaguely," Amanda said. "I...um...can't tell her too much about you without talking about the job too and..."

"Amanda, you don't have to explain. I get it," Lee said with a pang of sadness. "I'm not exactly the guy you can bring home to meet your mother. I couldn't even come to the front door to pick you up for a date if I wanted to. It's too dangerous for your family."

"A date?" Amanda questioned. "Is that what this is? Are we dating?"

"I...um...I thought we agreed that we didn't have to have a name for this."

"Oh, no, you're right, we did. I...uh...just with..."

"With what?" Lee asked.

"Well, the blanket and the champagne, I...uh...thought maybe this...tonight...was...I don't know...a date. I mean, it seemed like you planned it."

"Oh, I did plan it. I...uh..." He paused for a moment as he tried to compose his thoughts. In his mind, it was a date, but to call it that out loud would mean admitting openly that they were dating and opening up the idea of more dates, setting Amanda's expectations way too high and he couldn't afford that. Francine's words about breaking her spirit haunted him, as he knew he could never be what Amanda needed. He couldn't openly date her the way he wanted to without potentially putting her family in danger. "I...um...I just...I wanted to celebrate and I wanted to celebrate with you."

"Oh," Amanda said in disappointment. "Because I was there when you lost the old car," she added with a glance to the cliff in front of her, recalling his words from earlier.

"No, Amanda, that's not it. I...Um..." He paused again, took both of her hands in his and said, "I was just happy and I wanted to share my happiness with my best friend."

"I'm your best friend?"Amanda said with a delighted smile.

"Of course, you are. You don't know that by now?"

"No, I...um...I didn't know that." She was deeply touched by the thought, but still irked that he seemed unable to put a more definite name to their relationship. She shook off that thought and decided that "best friend" was progress.

After watching the news and the late show, Dotty returned downstairs to rinse out her milk glass and wondered where her daughter was. She hadn't heard her come upstairs and she didn't appear to be downstairs anywhere. Just as she was putting her glass in the sink, she heard the roar of a car outside. She hurried through the den, into the living room and peered out the window, just in time to see her daughter being helped out of a beautiful silver sports car, by what appeared to be an equally beautiful man. She, of course, couldn't tell for sure what he looked like because it was so dark, but she was sure beyond any doubt that this was her daughter's lover because she'd barely been out of the care for a moment, when he pulled Amanda into a passionate embrace.

Lee and Amanda broke apart from their heated kiss and Amanda said with a mischievous grin, "Thanks for the ride."

Lee, giving her a dervish grin of his own, fired back, "Thanks for taking that ride with me."

They said their goodnights and Lee watched until Amanda was safely inside the house before returning to his new car to take him back to his own home.

As Amanda entered the house, she was startled by her mother saying, "Did you have a nice night?"

"Mother, don't sneak up on me like that," Amanda said her hand on her chest to catch her breath.

"I wasn't sneaking," Dotty said. "I believe sneaking is your thing these days, for example, sneaking out of the house tonight."

"I wasn't sneaking," Amanda argued, "And I was only gone for a little over an hour."

"Amanda, your life if your life, but don't you think it's time to stop these middle of the night escapades and insist that your man spend more than an hour of his time with you?"

"You're right, Mother," Amanda said. "My life is _my_ life. I'm going to bed now. Goodnight." Without another word, she hurried up the stairs before her mother could hound her further.

Dotty shook her head and muttered, "An hour at a time. What kind of relationship is that?" She sighed as she realized she wasn't going to get through to her daughter. "I've got to find out who this man is and have a serious talk with him."


	29. Hot Mama

**Chapter 29-Hot Mama**

"Brunettes Are In"

"God," Lee muttered as he violently tossed a sock across Amanda's den, then reached to pick up a hot pink tee. He sighed and said, "All right, let's-" He broke off as he glanced as what he was holding. "What is..." He turned it around for her to see and said, "You don't actually wear this, do you?" a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes at thinking of her of a "hot mama." She was definitely that, not that he'd ever admit that to her.

"Yes, Phillip and Jamie gave it to me," she said softly, still reeling from his callous remarks earlier about how she didn't have enough experience for the job she'd been assigned to. It was almost as if he blamed her for losing the sock.

"Oh, Phillip and Jamie gave it to you, did they?" He wondered what Phillip and Jamie would think of their "hot mama" if he knew that how hot she really was, if they knew he'd be violating their mother on a regular basis for over a year now. He suppressed those thoughts. That was the last thing he needed to be thinking about right now when the lives of three agents hung in the balance and time was running out. That thought just made his anger flare again. "Huh, well...Well, Hot Mama, It seems that three of our best agents are in a great deal of trouble right now because we lost a vital microdot," he said as he rose angrily to his feet and began pacing around her den. "And the only lead we have to this vital microdot is with some damn purse snatcher named Rollo and here I am, sitting in your den, going through your laundry and feeling very much like an idiot right now."

Amanda cleared her throat as she tried to keep herself from tearing up at his harsh words. Seeing the hurt look on Amanda's face, he tried to backpedal, "So..." he said awkwardly. "So..." He found that he had to look away from her as he couldn't stand the sight of the hurt he'd caused her. He walked the direction of her back door and said, "So... I'm very...I'm very sorry, Amanda," but couldn't look her in the eye when he said it, her disappointment in him visible on her face. How was it that with just a look, she could make him feel as if he were one of her children being scolded for being caught with his hand in the cookie jar? "I lost my temper again. I seem to be always saying things that...um..."

"Well, sometimes that's when people are most honest," Amanda said quietly, forcing herself not to let her tears fall.

"And the dumbest, so..." Lee said as he made his way back around her couch to face her again, then seeing that she still looked hurt, kept right on walking, intending to make another lap around her sofa until she spoke again.

"Lee, I think we should stop," Amanda said resolutely, the overwhelming hurt threatening to consume her. Her mother's words to her about having a man who'd devote more than just an hour of his personal time with her haunting her.

"I know, there's no microdot in this laundry-"

"No, I don't mean that," Amanda said, her voice overlapping his. "I think we should stop working together. I don't think we should be partners anymore."

"No, hold it, , whoa, whoa, whoa, we have _never_ been partners," Lee argued to deflect the hurt she'd just caused him by suggesting such a thing, his usual defense mechanism of blatant denial kicking in.

"Oh, yes, we have. We've been partners," Amanda said pointedly meaning more than just their professional association.

Their voice overlapped again as he denied working with partners, while she pointed out that he was losing his temper again. They argument culminating with Amanda deciding to turn in her resignation, hoping that Lee would argue back and not want her to, but when he just told her to do what was best for her, then left, she heaved a deep sigh. Her heart was heavy at the idea that he couldn't own up to his true feelings. She knew they were there, but he stubbornly refused to admit it. She'd tried to be patient with him because he'd had a rough life, but enough was enough.

Lee's thoughts were whirling as he drove away from Amanda's house, his anger cooling, but his frustration growing. She'd acted heartbroken when he'd told her to do what was best for her. As much as it pained him to think of her leaving the agency, at the thought of never seeing her again, that was what was best for her, to keep her safe. Why couldn't she see that? His anger had flared primarily because this simple courier assignment had nearly gotten her killed. He was angrier at Billy for giving her that assignment in the first place. What the hell was he thinking about in putting his Amanda in that kind of dangerous position? He cringed as he thought of her again, of the sadness that he'd seen in her eyes. The moment he'd seen it, he'd wanted to apologize again, only this time not with his words. He'd wanted so badly to take her in his arms and beg her not to leave him, but he couldn't, not if leaving the agency meant keeping her safe. As hard as he tried, though, he couldn't get her pained expression out of his mind or stop wondering what she was doing now? Was she still sitting in that chair, finally letting the tears he'd seen forming in her eyes fall? "Damn it," he swore at the thought that he'd made her cry. Pounding his fists against the steering wheel, he made a quick u-turn, determined to make it right.

As he arrived back at her house, he felt a knife in his heart at hearing her terrified scream. He barreled in through the open front door, gun drawn, immensely grateful that his remorse had led him back here, otherwise who knew what might have happened to her. He had to admit that he was impressed during the ensuing scuffle at how well she fought back, thinking like he had a year ago after the Delano incident that she might make a decent agent someday. When it was over and they were both clutching the lamp that she'd nearly brained him with, he felt his frustration growing again as they rehashed their disagreement. When she yanked the lamp away from him, he sighed.

"See? You said it again," Amanda had said.

"Said what? I don't even know what I said anymore," Lee replied thinking that if he hadn't been able to stop her from beating him senseless with that lamp, it would have been no less than he deserved for the way he'd treated her. He was about to give her the real apology that she deserved, but as luck would have it, they were interrupted as usual by the untimely return of her family. He'd had to make a quick escape out the back door with Rollo in tow.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they worked together to work the pipe loose to free Lee from his bonds, he took the time to finally voice what had been on his mind from the moment that he'd learned of Amanda's courier assignment. "Maybe it's a good idea that you do leave the agency."

"Oh, no, I don't think so," Amanda replied as she turned from him still putting all her weight on the overhead pipe, then turned back toward him.

"Look, if you weren't working for the agency, you wouldn't be in a mess like this."

"Yeah," she said turning from him again, "but I wouldn't have you to save me then either, would I?"

Once it was all over and the suspects apprehended, they were left alone on the docks and had a chance to really talk about the situation. "Yeah, yeah, you're right," Lee said as he agreed with her about it not being her fault that the microdot had been stolen. "And...uh...you know that part about your...uh..."

"My resignation," Amanda filled in for him.

"Yeah, That part," Lee said feeling a sharp stab of pain at the thought of her leaving the agency, thereby leaving him. "Amanda, I think...I think you oughtta give it a little more thought.

"I think you're right," Amanda said with a warm smile. "I think maybe I didn't know what it was you were really saying." She was deeply touched by the fact that he'd confessed that his thought of her leaving the agency wasn't because he thought she couldn't handle it or that he didn't want her around. It was simply because he didn't want to see her hurt. While he may never say the words she wanted to hear out loud, that statement had spoken volumes all by itself.

Lee chuckled and said, "Yeah, that was probably it and I guess that I...uh...I didn't really understand what it was that you were saying, so...uh..." When she'd said they should stop, his first thought had been that she was done with him on a personal level and had tried to write ir off as just stopping their current task, but now, seeing her smiling at him, accepting his unspoken apology, he knew that he hadn't blown everything completely.

As they talked, Amanda's eyes widened in surprise at Lee producing her letter of resignation, then balling it up and tossing it into the nearby trash can. Her heart leapt when he smiled that beautiful smile of his at her, shook her hand and called her "partner." She reflected on the times they'd discussed what their relationship was and found that she liked the word, partner, as it conveyed so many things, more than just their professional relationship. He released her hand, and then slid his arm behind her guiding her to walk down the pier with him. "So...uh...it looks like Billy and Francine have everything under control, so...uh...what do you think we should do now?" she asked, his smile, his handshake and the warm pressure of his hand on the small of her back stirring the fire within her.

Lee paused and glanced at the ship that they'd just vacated and said, "You know...uh...we should probably get back in there and make sure that there's nothing that got overlooked. There...uh...could be more evidence in there, you know and you and I both know that the local PD aren't always as thorough as they should be."

"Right," Amanda said. "There could be evidence." They smiled at each other for a moment, both knowing that there was no way they were going to be looking for evidence.

"Right," Lee said as he guided her back onto the ship and they quickly made their way into one of its lower cabins for privacy.

Once alone with the door closed, they were in each other's arms, kissing and groping furiously, neither knowing who began the first kiss, just both knowing that the real "evidence" was of their unspoken need for each other after the intensity of their fight. Their kisses halted just long enough for them to both catch their breath before they began again, tongues dueling, bodies grinding against one another as their hands tugged at clothing, their fierce desire for each other driving them both to a need for completion as quickly as possible.

"Oh," Amanda cried out as Lee lifted her up against the door, shifting the fabric of her panties aside just enough to give him room to push inside her. She clamped her arms around his neck, looking into his eyes that were silently asking for permission to continue. Her answer was simply one word, "Yes," she whispered.

Seeing the consent in her eyes, combined with the glassy look of her raging desire, he drove up into her again as he nuzzled her neck. "Hot mama, indeed," He murmured against her skin, one hand holding her hip to steady her while the other slipped between them to stroke her as he pushed into her.

Amanda giggled at his words as she braced her back against the door to push against him, needing to feel him as deep inside her as she could. As he moved within her, driving her over the edge, she wondered how she could ever have been insane enough to think that she could give this up, to never feel his hands on her body, his lips on her skin, his erect shaft buried deep within her. "Oh, Lee," she cried out as he gave her the release she needed from the pain caused by their fight.

Feeling her writhing against him, her tight walls closing around him, gave Lee his own release as he pumped his essence into her, his legs soon giving out and like, once before causing him to topple to the floor with her astride him causing them both to laugh uproariously at the ridiculousness of the situation. "Ouch," Lee said with a chuckle through his irregular breathing.

"Yep, you're going to have another bruise on your ass, huh, Big Fella?" she said with a smirk.

"You got that right, Hot Mama," He said a little amused at hearing the word "ass" coming from her mouth, thinking once again that the more time he spent with her, the more she surprised him.

"You're never gonna' let me live that down, are you?"

"Mm-mm," he said with a grin. "I just wonder what those innocent boys of yours would think if they knew exactly what a hot mama you are."

"Oh, is that right," Amanda said.

"Oh, yeah," Lee said with a warm smile. "I'm thinking that I'm really glad that you're wearing a skirt."

"Well, I'm just grateful that you didn't destroy another pair of my underwear," she fired back.

"I'll buy you some new ones." Lee laughed as he thought of the past times when he'd done just that in his frenzy to be inside her, to possess her as thoroughly as he could. He was silent for a moment as his thoughts turned more serious. "So...uh...when you...uh...when you said that we should stop...I..."

"Yes?" she said expectantly.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself to pose the question that he wanted to ask. "When you said that we should stop working together...did that mean that...that you wanted to...uh...stop this too."

"I think that kind of goes without saying," Amanda said. At seeing his crestfallen face at her honesty, she continued with, "Look, I was hurt and you were angry, then I got more hurt because you got angrier and I...uh...I think we both said some things that we didn't mean."

"Yeah," Lee said. "I...just...I..."

Amanda watched the emotions play on his face, his remorse for his harsh words, his fear for her safety, his hurt at her confession that she'd thought of ending their personal relationship as well. All of these things conveyed to her more than any words could just how deep his love for her was, even if he couldn't say the words aloud. She placed a finger tenderly to his lips and said, "You don't have to say anything. I know." She then gently kissed him, rose from her perch to straighten her clothing and said, "We should get back out there before they start wondering where we are," giving him an out. She knew that while he loved her, he wasn't ready to say the words and she wasn't going to force them out of him. She just needed to be patient a while longer.

Lee rose to his feet, straightened his own clothes and smiled in wonder at her back to him, thinking about how lucky he was to have her in his life even though he was completely undeserving of her. Someday, he'd feel brave enough to tell her how he felt, maybe. If he could ever get over his fear of his life putting hers in danger, maybe.


	30. Invitation to Training

Author's Note: I would love to skip this one as it's never been one of my favorites. I always felt that it insults Amanda's intelligence and contradicts the skill she showed in "Magic Bus," however, just for the sake of completeness I'm including it anyway as there are a few nice interactions between our heroes that I can play with. Plus, I do like to play with Francine a bit too.

**Chapter 30-Invitation to Training**

"A Class Act"

After Billy had left following the conversation about the bomb in his room, Lee walked a still shaky Amanda back to her cabin, fuming that someone had tried to kill him and in the process kill Amanda. He was used to his life being on the line, but hers, no. The fact that whoever had planted the bomb in his cabin would have taken Amanda out too, that she would have been nothing but collateral damage to them, made him madder than someone gunning for him.

Amanda tried desperately to control her shaking as she and Lee walked together, his comforting hand at the small of her back making her feel a little better. She'd been elated that he'd offered to walk her back to her cabin as they were leaving his, that roguish smile of his filling her stomach with butterflies the way it always did. Now, while still scared, she was even happier that he'd made that offer. If he hadn't, he'd be dead. She shivered at that thought, the thought that his life could so easily be extinguished...and hers too. It occurred to her just then that if they'd spent just a few more seconds in his room, she'd have been dead right along with him. She thought for a moment that it was strange that her own life being in danger had only hit her as an afterthought, shivering again at the idea that he'd become such a big part of her, that his life meant more to her than her own. She glanced sideways at him for a moment and wondered if he knew just how much he was a part of her now, that even if their "relationship" never progressed beyond the frenzied tumbles they'd shared, she'd never be as connected to another man as she was to him.

"You okay," Lee said feeling her shiver beside him just as they reached her cabin and stepped onto its porch.

"I...um...I'm just, you know...a little scared." He emotions were in a flurry. While startled, she had to admit, she'd gotten a little thrill out of Lee's arms around her in his cabin. She never thought she'd ever feel that way, but she was starting to get used to him sneaking up on her the way he did.

"I know," Lee said turning her to face him and sliding his hands to her waist. He would never admit it to her, but he was scared too. That explosion could have killed her, well and him too, but he didn't have anybody waiting at home for him the way that she did. The thought that Vardosk and his cronies could have just left her children orphaned made him want to hit something...or someone.

"If you hadn't..." She shuddered again.

"Hey," he said pulling her into his arms, holding her tightly to ease her shaking. "Hey, it's okay." It was far from okay. Someone was gunning for him again and she could very easily be caught in the crossfire just by her association with him. This was why as much as he loved her, he could never let her get close enough to become a target for someone else's revenge against him, just to be used as a pawn in a cruel game. Deep down, he knew that she loved him too. She knew that was why she'd been in his room in the first place, because she was worried for his safety. That was just one of the things that made him love her even more, her caring, nurturing nature.

"Oh, Lee, I was so scared," Amanda said in a raspy voice.

"I know," Lee said as he rocked her in his arms and planted a kiss to the top of her head as he felt her tears of fear soaking his shirt, "I know." He cupped one hand beneath her chin, raising her head to look at him, "but you're safe now."

Amanda let out a shuddering breath and said, "Lee, you don't understand." She gazed up into his eyes, swallowed hard and then continued, "I'm not scared for me. I...um...I'm scared for you. Someone's trying to kill you."

"Amanda, I'm fine," he said reassuringly as he wiped the tears from her face. "I'm the one who's trained for this, remember? To expect the unexpected?"

"Yeah, I know, but how could you have expected something like that? When I think that in just seconds, your life could have...I mean, you could have..." she swallowed hard again, gathered her strength and said, "You could have died."

"So, could you," Lee pointed out. "When I think that you could have...just because you were trying to help me...I..." He found he couldn't form the words that he wanted to say to her.

"Yes?"

Lee decided that if he couldn't tell her how he felt, he was damn sure going to show her. Using the hand on her face to his advantage, he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her soundly. It wasn't intended to be like the fiery, passionate kisses that they'd shared up to now. It was only intended to show her what she meant to him, how much he couldn't live without her, but when Amanda responded by tugging on the back of his head to pull him in deeper with her tongue teasing his lips, he was lost. He grasped the back of her head, plunged his tongue into her mouth and cupped her bottom with his other hand, pulling her tightly to him.

Amanda moaned into his mouth as the intensity of their kisses, the feeling of his hand tangling in her hair, tugging at her head to keep their kiss going, his other on her butt, pulling her closer, melding their bodies together. Her pulse quickened and her heart pounded at feeling him so close to her feeling so alive, making her feel so alive when they'd both nearly died.

Lee groaned against Amanda as he felt one of her hands sliding to his ass, squeezing it, keeping him locked against her. He broke their kiss, panting heavily. He then wasted no time in lifting her up to a seated position on the porch railing, his hands on her back to steady her, sliding them under her sweatshirt to caress the bare skin beneath as he lowered his lips to her neck and felt her locking her legs around his waist her hands on his shoulders.

Amanda gasped at Lee's lips on her neck, suckling at the tender pulse point that he had learned made her crazy with need. "Lee," she hissed. When she felt him unhook her bra, she said, "Lee, not here. Let's get inside."

Lee halted what he was doing, released her for a moment, and looked at her in surprise. Was she actually inviting him into her room? Before he could ask, she had hopped down and was pushing on his chest with one hand while reaching for the doorknob with the other. He slid his arms to her waist and kissed her again as she pushed him backward. As they crossed the threshold together, their feet tangled causing them both to fall to the hard wood floor. "Oof," Lee blurted out as the wind was knocked out of him, both by the landing and by Amanda's lithe body atop his. Recovering quickly, he kicked the door closed and resumed the task he'd begun on the porch, pushing the training vest from her shoulders and pulling her sweatshirt over her head. He slid the straps of her bra down her arms, and then rolled her beneath him, capturing one breast in his mouth as his hand found the other.

Amanda moaned low in her throat, her whole body humming at Lee's touches. She toed off her shoes, then raised her knees up on either side of him and grasped his butt as she pushed her hips up against his. She delighted in feeling how hard she'd already made him and couldn't help but wonder if other women had brought out that reaction in him so quickly. She knew he'd had a lot of women in his life and couldn't help but be curious how she compared to them in his mind. She hastily tamped down that thought. He'd said he hadn't been with another woman since her and she trusted him and wanted to believe in him. She supposed it didn't matter anyway. He kept coming back to her, kept coming back for more. That thought made her giddy, as did what he was doing to her.

Lee trailed kisses down Amanda's chest, to her stomach, then tugged at the waistband of her sweatpants, pulled back from her long enough to slide the down, dragging her panties with them. He gazed at her bare form for just a moment, then dipped his head between her legs and began feasting on her like a starving man.

"Lee," she said softly as his mouth worked at her. She hooked her legs over his shoulders as he cupped her bottom to bring her closer, delving into her with his tongue. "Oh," she cried at the sensation just before he clamped his mouth down on her sensitive nub, suckling on her until she was writing beneath him, her shaking no longer of fear, but of exquisite pleasure as shockwaves passed through her body, leaving her gasping for breath.

Lee raised his head, smiled at her smugly, then rose just long enough to kick off his own shoes, shucking his own clothing as quickly as he could. He was about to join her again when her legs swept his out from under him and he once again landed on the wooden floor with a loud thud. "What the hell?" he said in astonishment.

"I've learned a few things even without formal training," Amanda said with a sly grin just before she lowered her head to take him into her mouth, wanting to give him the same pleasure that he'd just given her.

"Oh," Lee groaned at the feeling of her mouth on him, alternating licking, then suckling him, running her tongue along his erection, then sucking it fully into her mouth, pulling back to tease just the head with her lips and tongue and then repeating the whole thing. "Ohhhh," he cried again, tangling his hands in her hair as his hips twitched beneath her and he tried to get his body to behave and not thrust into her mouth. "Just where...exactly did you learn...to do...that?" he panted through his heavy breathing.

Amanda released him with a loud pop, smiled a mischievous smile, shook her head and was about to resume her task when Lee grasped her firmly by the shoulders and shook his own head. Seeing the look of fierce desire in his eyes was all that Amanda needed to know what he wanted. Sliding her body up the length of his, she kissed him softly, then pulled back to straddle him, braced on hand on his chest and guided him into her causing both of them to gasp.

"Yes," Lee hissed through clenched teeth. He raised his knees, planted his feet firmly on the floor and clasped his hands on her hips as Amanda followed his lead, leaning against his propped up knees as she began to rack against him, his hands on her hips encouraging her.

"Oh, Lee," Amanda sighed at the feeling of him being inside her, the sounds of his pleasure spurring her on. Soon, the slow gentle rhythm she'd begun wasn't enough, she wanted to hear him screaming out her name again, feeling him exploding within her. Pushing her hands more firmly against his chest, her knees locked against his side to give herself the leverage she needed, she began to ride him harder and faster, reveling the feeling of him being deeper inside her with every push of her hips, delighted to feel him thrusting upward to meet her every time.

"Amanda," Lee cried erupting into her as he thrust up while she pushed down against him soon shaking beneath her. He clasped the hands on his chest to pull her down to him, capturing her lips in a searing kiss as their danced slowed back to a slow rhythm until their movements finally stilled and they lay there sharing heated kisses as clung to each other in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Lee rand his hands over Amanda's bare back as their kisses turned into long, lingering ones. He pulled back from their kisses, tapped her gently on the back.

Amanda looked at him quizzically, but took the hint sliding her body from his and rising to her feet feeling a little disoriented by his sudden shift until she felt herself being swept off of her feet and carried to the tiny bed in the corner of the room. "What are you doing," Amanda said.

"What does it look like I'm doing," Lee said impatiently as he laid her gently on her bed, then lowered himself above her, clasped her hands in his pinning them above her head before kissing her soundly. He pulled back to look at her for a moment, and then said, "Just once, I want to make love to you in a bed." He then bent his head to kiss her again only to find his lips barely grazing her cheek instead.

At hearing his words, Amanda began to panic and turned her head at the last minute. As much as she loved the idea of sharing a bed with him, she felt that it was just too intimate. She knew it sounded stupid, even in her own head considering that they'd already shared the most intimate act that two people could, but when he wouldn't even admit that they were dating, let alone admit that he had feelings for her, it just opened up too many scary thoughts. What would happen if he closed himself off to her again, as he was prone to do, after she'd let him share her bed? The heartbreak would be too much to bear. "No," she said softly and pushed on his chest.

"What? Why?" Lee demanded as he angrily rose from the bed and glared at her. "I don't get it. You practically attacked me out there and again in here, yet you won't let me share your bed?"

"Well, for one thing, this bed's a little too small, don't you think?"

"I'm sure we could make it work. We have in tighter spots that this or have you forgotten the front seat of your car?"

Amanda sat up and said, "No, I haven't forgotten." Truth be told, she remembered in excruciating detail very second of every time they'd made love.

"Then what's the real problem here? I mean, after all, since my cabin was blown to bits, it's not like I have a place to sleep tonight." He grinned at her for a moment, but very soon, that grin turned into a scowl as he realized by the look on her fact that that wasn't going to be the winning argument.

Suddenly feeling all too exposed, Amanda leapt from the bed, hurried to the wardrobe in the corner, pulled out her cotton nightgown and pulled it over her head to cover herself. "There are plenty of empty cabins you could sleep in," she said with her back to him. "I'm sure Billy will set you up in one. Besides, how would it look if someone saw you leaving my room in the morning? We're not supposed to have known each other before getting here, remember?" she said trying to logic her way out of letting him spend the night even though her heart was screaming at her to say yes.

Utterly defeated, Lee said, "No, you're right. I'll...uh...I'll just go. I'm supposed to meet with Billy and Francine anyway." He gathered up his discarded clothes and dressed as quickly as he could as she pulled back the covers on her bed. "I...um...I...aw, hell," he said as he ran a hand through his hair. "Good-night, Amanda." He then left quickly, barreling down the steps, in his frustration and his hurry to get away, not paying attention to where he was going until he ran headlong into Francine.

"Well, well," Francine said with a leer. "Giving Amanda some extra training, are you?"

"Can it, Francine," Lee snapped. "After what happened tonight, I was just walking her back to her cabin to make sure she was safe."

"Don't even try it, Lee. Billy sent me to find you and I saw the two of you on the porch and the way you were kissing, just before she shoved you into her room. I have to admit, I didn't think she had it in her to be the aggressor. I always pegged her as the swoony Harlequin romance-type who'd let the man take the lead."

Lee chuckled slightly and said. "I told you Amanda can be very surprising. There's a lot you don't know about her."

"And you do?"Francine said archly. "What exactly are you playing at here?"

"I'm not _playing at_ anything," Lee said hotly.

"No?"

"No," Lee said.

"Well, then why aren't you still in there with her? I'm sure you could have used the excuse that your cabin was blown to smithereens as an excuse to spend the night since you're now without a place to sleep. I'm sure little-miss-swoony would have bought right into it. She trusts you a lot more than she should and hasn't got the first damn clue that you're just using her for some quick, easy sex."

"Francine, you're the one who doesn't have a damn clue, just stay the hell out of my private life, okay?" he said running both hands through his hair. In fact, he was beginning to feel as if he were the one being used. Every time that he started to feel closer to Amanda, that she was letting him in a little more, she shut him down. He glanced forlornly back at the cabin, he'd just vacated and sighed, wondering if they'd ever be on the same page at the same time.


	31. In Your Company

**Chapter 31-In Your Company**

"Playing Possum"

"Amanda, is there anything you'd like to talk to me about?" Dotty asked worriedly.

Amanda turned from her mother to sit on the arm of the couch, nervously biting her thumbnail and said evasively, "Like what, Mother?"

"Well, we could start with an explanation of why you left the house this morning all up and happy and then returned this afternoon all depressed and confused, "Dotty replied sure that it must have something to do with her secret lover.

"Depressed and confused," Amanda repeated as she chewed her nails her mind barely registering her mother's words as she worried about the agency, what had happened, where everybody was, but mostly worrying about Lee, where he was and whether he was safe.

"I know when you're troubled, Amanda. You don't eat, you don't sleep and you bite your nails."

Amanda abruptly pulled her hand from her mouth and said, "I do not bite my nails, Mother. I have never bitten my nails. I'm gonna check dinner."

Amanda hurried into the kitchen with her mother hot on her heels saying, "You look like you're biting your nails. Now, I am not going to talk about your work with this film company because I agreed that it's none of my business, but I do have the right to be...uh...concerned about your well-being. Film people are different, Amanda. They have strange views and attitudes. I'm not so sure that they are the kind of people you should be with," Dotty said thinking of one film person in particular, this mystery lover who seemed to have her daughter riding an emotional roller coaster. "Film people are not always what they seem. And-"

"Right," Amanda said to cut her mother off as during her tirade about film people, the subject of her rant had appeared at the kitchen window.

"Right," Dotty agreed.

"Yes, Mother, you're right. And I think I better just go outside an think about what you just said because it is so right," Amanda said as she hurried to the back door.

"Right," Dotty said as Amanda exited.

As soon as she stepped outside, she heard the familiar husky voice that made her stomach do flip-flops. "You're all right, I was so worried."

Lee smiled warmly at her concern for him. "I'm fine, I'm fine," he said reassuringly.

While conversing with Yuri, it became apparent to Lee that he had found him through Amanda, but more than that, he realized by the tone in which he'd said he'd seen her in his company, he believed they were a couple. He smiled at Amanda as he told her he didn't want her cover blown, calling her "Sweetheart" and "Honey" to make it seem as real as he wanted it to be. He found he rather liked it.

In the back room of the bowling alley, he watched Amanda hedging and trying to get out of being hypnotized and couldn't help wondering if she was thinking the same thing that he was, what might be revealed under hypnosis other than just the contents of the wiretaps?

Later that night after her rounds of hypnosis and learning of the nuclear bomb, Amanda once again fidgeted nervously and said, "Lee, if I could just get Mother and the boys on the train to Vermont...I could come back in the morning."

"Go," he said understanding her need to protect her family as he had the same need to protect her.

As Amanda was rising from her seat, Francine stopped her with a loud, "NO! She stays! She had vital information! She stays!"

Francine pointed a long finger in Lee's face who countered with, "Francine, it's Amanda," giving her a pointed look.

Seeing the look on Lee's face that said just how much he cared for Amanda, Francine looked away, then looked at Amanda and said, "Go on," while Lee just smiled at the woman he loved.

After Lee and Yuri had brought Francine and the other agents up to speed, Francine took him aside and said with a stern look, "What exactly is going on between you and Amanda?"

"I don't know what you mean," Lee said evasively.

"Oh, are we going to play this game again where you pretend that you're not sleeping with her even though I caught you in the act?"

"So, you caught us together, so what?"

"Yeah, and I also saw you leaving her cabin in a huff. What was that all about?"

"We had a fight, that's all," Lee said. "It happens, but we both got over it."

"A fight? Since when do you get over a fight with a girlfriend? Your habit is after a fight, making sure they know that they're no longer your girlfriend. She is your girlfriend now, isn't she?"

"Amanda's not my girlfriend and she never has been," Lee said sadly.

"OH? Then why does Yuri in there seem to think she is? He kept calling her your lady and what was that look about tonight?"

"What look?"Lee said impatiently. "There was no look."

"There _was_ a look and that look that said..." Francine paused searching his face for the answer she sought.

"What?" Lee snapped, feeling immensely uncomfortable with her intense scrutiny of him.

"Boy, she's really done a number on you. You're falling for her, aren't you?"

"What? No, don't be ridiculous. No," Lee said. It was at least partially true. He wasn't _falling _for her; he'd already fallen for her...hard.

"Then explain to me your willingness to violate protocol tonight so she could get her family out of here."

"Francine, in case you haven't noticed, I've always helped her look out for her family when there's a potential threat to them. I feel a responsibility to them because I'm the one who dragged Amanda into this crazy business. I'm the reason that they've been in danger to start with. If I'd never handed her that package that day in the train station, they would never have been involved in any of this."

"And right now, we wouldn't have any leads on where this bomb is either. You can keep telling yourself that you're not involved with her, but I know better."

"Look, I admit that I care about her..."

"But for how long? How long is it going to be before you get tired of her just like you get tired of every other woman you've ever been involved with, just like you got tired of me?"

"Ah-a," Lee said triumphantly. "That's what this is really about, isn't it? You're mad because Amanda's held my attention longer that you did. You're jealous of her."

"Jealous, ha!' Francine scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. That was over a long time ago! No, my only concern is that you don't chase her off before we have a chance to get things back to normal."

"I don't think I could chase her off if I tried," Lee said with some amusement as he thought of all the times he'd tried to talk her into leaving the agency for her own safety and she stubbornly refused and was always determined to watch his back.

"You'd just better hope you're right. As much as it pains me to say this, we need Amanda right now, so you just better not screw this up," she said jabbing him in the chest with her finger before sauntering off.

While Lee was dealing with Francine, Amanda was dealing with a difficult conversation of her own. "I thought you were going to call if you were very late," Dotty said from the doorway of the living room as her wayward daughter walked in the door.

Amanda jumped at the sound of her mother's voice, frantic to get plans made to get her and the boys out of town before the DC area would potentially become a ball of flames. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "I'm very sorry, Mother," Amanda said. "I was...um...involved."

"Mm-hm," Dotty said thinking she knew just what she was involved in. "With your mystery man, I presume." Her daughter wasn't fooling her. She'd seen the silver sports car parked down the block and it had been there all afternoon and evening while Amanda had taken off in her own car, so she knew they'd gone somewhere together.

"No, Mother, I just...after our talk...I...I just needed some time to think," she put her bowling bag away and closed the closet door firmly.

"About your mystery man?"Dotty said shaking her head in disbelief. She'd thought she'd gotten through to her with her talk about "film people." Clearly this man fit into what she knew about such people. More than a year had passed since he'd begun this love affair with her daughter, yet there still seemed to be no sign that it was going anywhere.

"Mother, why does everything in my life have to revolve around a man?"

"You're right, you're right, it doesn't. It's late. We'll talk about this in the morning. I'm just glad you're home."

Dotty then went up to her room while Amanda reached for the phone and began frantically dialing, "Uncle Herman," she said when the phone was answered "Yes, I'm sorry for calling so late. I need to ask a big favor. It's an emergency."

Her phone calls done and arrangements made to get her family to Vermont as quickly as possible, her worry returned. What if they weren't able to locate the bomb in time? Then it would be over. They'd both be dead without ever having a chance to know what they really mean to each other. She made her way upstairs and began to get undressed for bed, her thoughts a jumble. What if it really happened this time and she never got to tell him that she loved him? Standing there half-dressed, she made a decision. Instead of going to bed as she knew she should, she reached into her closet, then into her lingerie drawer, wanting to give Lee a night to remember in case they never had another one like it,. She dressed quickly and headed out the door, driving as fast as she could to the bowling alley.

Left alone with his thoughts after being accosted by Francine, Lee kept pondering her words about Amanda being his girlfriend. He'd denied it, of course, just as he'd denied it many times to Amanda herself, but he couldn't help wondering if Francine was right. He'd never just gotten over a fight with any woman in his life. After a fight like the one he and Amanda had had, the woman in question would have just been a distant memory. Not Amanda though. When they fought, she had this way of making him feel incredibly guilty for his part in whatever they fought about as if the whole thing had been his fault.

He then thought about Yuri, how he had said he'd seen Amanda in his company many times and wondered just how much he'd seen. Did he know that they were lovers? Did he know that they couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other? Did he see that Amanda made him feel like a hormonal schoolboy whenever she was around, how he couldn't get enough of her? Did he know that he couldn't live without her, that she was like a drug to him, that he needed her like he needed the air he breathed? More importantly, did Amanda know? She gave him that look sometimes that said that he didn't need to actually say the words for her to know how he felt about her, that she already knew, but then the way that she would question what the nature of their relationship was and make him wonder just how much she knew. Now with this bomb threat hanging over their heads, she might never know what she meant to him. He had to change that.

Determined that if they weren't able to stop the bomb and they died tomorrow, that he wouldn't let that happen without telling Amanda the truth, he poked his head in the door of the back room where the other agents were gathered and said, "I'm gonna' take a walk. I need to clear my head." When he received murmurs of assent and one very pointed look from Francine, he quickly made his way out to the parking lot. It was then that he realized that he had no way to get to his destination as his 'vette was still parked down the street from Amanda's house as they'd driven there together. "Damn!" he swore and kicked the side of the building in frustration. "Damn, damn, damn!"

He was just about to make his way back into the building when he heard the squeal of tires behind him and smiled as he saw the familiar family station wagon barreling into the parking lot. He trotted out to meet her. She'd barely parked the car when he yanked open her door, released the catch on her seat belt and hauled her roughly out of the car, pinned her against its frame and kissed her soundly, pouring all the love he felt for her into that one kiss. He tugged on the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her thick dark curls as they kissed for what felt like an eternity, relishing her eager response as her hands snaked to the back of his head to pull him in deeper.

They kissed feverishly, tongues dueling as they clung to each other until oxygen became an issue and they were forced to break apart, both breathing heavily, chests heaving. "Lee, I..." Amanda began just as he was saying, "I thought you weren't coming back until morning."

They both chuckled softly and Lee said, "I thought you were going home to get your family out of here."

"The arrangements are all made," Amanda explained. "My uncle Herman is going to let them stay with him a little earlier than we planned on. They'll be leaving first thing in the morning."

Lee nodded and said, "Maybe you should go with them where you'll be safe."

"No," Amanda said firmly. "I won't leave you to face this by yourself. Besides, you may need me. We don't know what else may be locked in my memory that could help stop this."

Lee cupped her face, caressing it softly. "But if we don't stop this, you...you could ...you could die."

"So could you," Amanda said. "And if that's going to happen, I...I...I don't want you to die alone."

"That's just the deal that I signed on for when I started this job," Lee said trying to sound nonchalant about it. The fear of saying had never bothered him before because there was no one to say good-bye to, no one who'd care if he were gone, and no one who needed him. He had sometimes even wished for it just to end the misery of being so utterly alone, his job being the only thing he lived for, but now with Amanda in his life, he felt he had everything to live for. "But you didn't."

"Yes, I did," Amanda said. "I knew from the first time that I met you when I took hat package from you that I was getting into something dangerous. I knew when Mr. Melrose offered me this job, that it could cost me my life, but if I can make a difference like I always wanted to..." her voice trailed off as a sad memory struck her.

"What does that mean?"Lee questioned seeing the sadness in her eyes.

"It doesn't matter," Amanda said as she shook off the memories of her past and continued with, "what matters now is that we fight this and if we don't make it, that we make the most of what time we've got left together."

"Is that why you came back?" Amanda nodded and tugged on the back of his head again to pull him in for another kiss desperate to let him know how she felt about him, but still too afraid to say the words. She'd come back fully intending to throw caution to the wind and say it, but now that she thought about it, she didn't want it to happen this way. She didn't want to come clean with him only when it might be the end of the world as they knew it, didn't want him to think that that was the only reason she was saying it.

Lee kissed her back with equal fervor for a moment before pulling back and saying, "Not here. Let's get inside." He released his hold on her long enough to shut the car door and then reached for her hand, leading her back into the darkened bowling alley.

"Where are we going? Aren't there other agents still in here?"Amanda questioned.

"Yeah, but only in the meeting room," Lee answered as they reached the closed door to the bowling alley's bar on the opposite side of the building. "The bowling alley's closed now, so we won't be disturbed." Still gripping her hand tightly, he used his free hand to dig for his keys and unlocked the door, pulled her inside and quickly followed, locking the door behind them. He'd barely had time to flip the light on when Amanda was on him again, tugging at his tie and nipping at his neck. He gently pulled her from him, again cupped her face in his hands and said, "Amanda, wait. I...There's something that I have to say before I lose my nerve and if we don't stop this bomb, I may never bet another chance." He lowered his hand to take both of hers in his and began, "Amanda, I lo-" His words were halted by her lips on his.

Amanda pulled her hands from his and tugged at the back of his head. If she died tomorrow, she wanted more than anything to just feel what he made her feel when she was in his arms one more time.

Lee pulled back again and said, "Amanda..."

"Shhh," she said with a finger to his lips.

"But I need...There's so much I want to say to you," Lee protested.

"No," Amanda said. "Anything you say right now is going to sound like good-bye and I..." she licked her lips nervously and then continued."I don't want it to be that way. I don't want you to say something that you're not ready to say just because you think we're gonna' die." More than anything, she didn't want him taking it back later if they did survive. She could practically hear his speech in her head about how they reached out to each other because they were once again in a life or death situation. She had the speech memorized now. She couldn't take it again.

"But you should know..."

"I know, Sweetheart, I know," she whispered softly.

Lee smiled at her calling him sweetheart and slid his hands to her waist, "You changed clothes," he said taking in her dark blue blouse and the skirt she wore.

"Mm-hmm," she said as she stepped closer to him and slid her hands slowly up his chest to rest on his shoulders, "for you."

"I like it," he said as he bent his head to kiss her and tugged on her hips to pull her against him. If she wasn't going to let him tell her how much he felt for her, he was damn sure going to show her. He groaned at the feeling of her being pressed against him while she loosed his tie and tossed it aside, then began working the buttons on his shirt loose. He lowered his lips to her neck as he started doing the same to her blouse while she yanked the tails of his shirt from his pants. He pulled back long enough to undo the cuffs at his wrists to allow her to push his shirt from him. He gaped at her for a moment at the lacy confection he'd exposed beneath her blouse. "I like this too," he said as he dropped her blouse to the floor and then lightly fingered the satiny straps of the sexy black bra she wore. "Was this for me too?"

"Well, since I don't own a sexy nightgown, I thought this would be the next best thing," she said with a smile as she kissed him gently.

Lee chuckled softly and said, "It works," as he pulled her to him again then back her up against the bar before lowering his lips to her neck again, then trailing kisses across her collarbone, while he unhooked her bra, slid it down her arms then kept going with him mouth until he captured one breast.

Amanda arched her back against him as Lee suckled her nipple into hardness and then turned his attention to the other one to give it the same treatment. "Oh, Lee," Amanda sighed as she ran her hands up his chest to his shoulders while his hands found the zipper on her skirt and she felt it pooling at her feet.

"This is nice too," Lee said as he raised his head to look at her and saw the panties she wore matched the bra he just stripped her of.

"So, is this," Amanda said as she reached down to clutch his bottom for a moment, before turning her attention to his belt, loosening it quickly.

Lee groaned as Amanda made quick work of the closures on his slacks and worked her hand inside wrapping it around him. "Amanda," he hissed loving the feeling of her slender fingers stroking his manhood. He stepped back from her long enough to step out of his shoes and kick his pants completely off, then hosted her up to sit on the bar, slid her panties down her long legs, the planted himself on the barstool in front of her. He parted her legs and trailed kisses up the inside of her thighs one at a time, suckling at the tender skin there as he went before fully claiming her with his mouth.

"Lee," Amanda gasped, her hands flying to his head as she planted her feet against his thighs and just reveled in the sensations he was creating. Her breath was becoming erratic as he nipped at her with his teeth, suckling and licking her until she felt her climax overwhelming her and cried out his name clutching his head, finger tangling in his hair.

Lee looked up and smiled smugly at the glazed look in her eyes, rose for just a moment to shuck off his boxers, then sat back down, pulled her from the bar into his lap to straddle him, guiding himself into her in one fluid movement. "Oh, Amanda," he groaned loudly at the feeling of being joined with her again. God, would he ever get enough of this, of how the fit together so perfectly? He just wished their lives could blend as easily. He grasped her waist leaning her slightly back against the bar to change the angle of his penetration as he pushed up into her while she pushed down against him. He turned his attention back to her breasts, finding one with his mouth and teasing it with his tongue as they moved together. He trailed kisses across her chest and murmured against her skin, "This is what you really came back for, isn't it?"

"Yes," she answered in a husky voice through her heavy breathing, "Oh, yes," she cried as the sensation built again. God, how she loved having this man inside her, hearing him whisper to her as he made love to her.

"Oh, Sweetheart," he groaned not even thinking about endearment slipping from his lips as he'd been using it all day in front of Yuri to maintain the cover as lovers that the Russian had established for them. He gripped her hips tighter, increasing the pace. ""Oh, Amanda, my Amanda, my sweetheart," he cried as he exploded within her. He pulled her head down and claimed her mouth with his as he pumped his seed into her delighted to feel her clenching around him.

Amanda clutched his shoulder, digging her nails into his skin as her second orgasm slammed into her just as she felt his warmth spilling into her, her heart soaring at hearing him calling her name, calling her his sweetheart. She knew it was a moment that wouldn't last as he was only honest with his feelings when they were intimate. She knew tomorrow, it would be business as usual, complete with mutual denials of their real feelings, but she was enjoying it for now, allowing herself to believe just for now that she really was his sweetheart. She'd deal with tomorrow when it was here. As their movements stilled and breathing slowed back to a normal rate, she pulled back from their kiss, looked into his eyes and was startled to see the outpouring of emotion there. He wasn't hiding it. His love for her was plain as day on his face. She felt happy tears stinging her own eyes, but blinked them back, knowing that the moment was too good to last. "Well, I'm very glad that I came back," she said trying to make a joke of it before he could trot out "the speech" again.

"I am too," Lee replied and then kissed her softly.

She pulled back, slid from his lap and said, "But I...uh...I really should get back home if I'm going to get Mother and the boys on the train in the morning," as she began to gather up her clothes.

"Yeah," Lee said as he rose from the barstool, reached for his fallen boxers and pulled them on. "Maybe you should reconsider going with them."

_Here it comes, _Amanda thought. "No," she said as she zipped up her skirt then put her bra back on.

"For your own safety," Lee argued.

"Lee, I said no. Now, I'm going to see this through to the end, no matter what that end might be."

"Amanda King, you are the most stubborn-"

"Lee, listen, if the end comes tomorrow, then I want to be with you when it does," she said as she fastened the last button on her blouse. "So don't argue." She kissed him one last time, snatched up her purse and hurried out the door.

"Yeah, me too," Lee said staring at her retreating form in wonder.

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Two days later, as they were putting the agency back together, Francine walked by them and couldn't help wondering what the banter between them was all about. She could hazard a guess as Lee was saying Amanda was easy while she protested that she was not. She decided she didn't want to know and instead asked them about the lamp. When Lee's reply was to tell her to try the blue wire and both of them laughed uproariously at it as if it were some private joke, she looked at them curiously wondering just what their real relationship was.


	32. For You, It Will Be Pleasure

**Chapter 32-For You It Will Be Pleasure**

"The Three Faces of Emily"

Amanda sighed and picked up her paint samples, flipping through them, as she walked from her foyer toward the kitchen, "Hmm, burnt sand" she said thoughtfully.

"Sounds like what I'm drinking," Lee said from inside the refrigerator.

"What are you doing here?" wondering why she wasn't even surprised to see him rooting through her refrigerator.

"Morning," Lee said with a smile. "Uh...you wouldn't have and half-and-half?"

"I ran out this morning," Amanda said as she approached him. "What are you doing?"

"Coffee break. I like my coffee black, just no this black," Lee said with a disdainful look at the coffee cup he'd swiped from her cupboard.

"Um, why don't you try the milk? It's better for you," Amanda suggested.

"Milk?" Lee said dubiously.

"Mm-hmm," she said with a nod.

"Okay," he said skeptically as he grabbed the milk jug, walked to the island with it and began to pour while Amanda closed the fridge.

"You need anything else," Amanda said in a somewhat sarcastic tone, a little unnerved by having him in her kitchen this early in the morning as if he lived there.

"No," Lee answered.

"Would you like some sugar," she said her voice overlapping his.

"I'm fine."

"How about the morning paper?" Amanda said, no longer even attempting to mask her sarcasm or her irritation with him.

"No, no," Lee said with an awkward chuckle as he took a seat at one of the stools.

"How about telling me what you're doing here?"

"I need you," Lee said.

"You need me?" Amanda questioned nervously wonder exactly what he needed her for. True to form, after their last encounter, he'd distanced himself from her and had even starting dating someone new. She was very grateful now that she hadn't poured her heart out to him in her moment of fear.

"I need you," Lee replied with an impish smile as he leaned against the island. "I came to ask you out."

Amanda heart leapt as she said tentatively, "You mean like on a..."

"A date?" Lee finished for her. "Yeah...well, sort of..." he said hesitantly. _Damn it, _he thought. Why couldn't he just come right out and say that he wanted her as his date? For that matter, why couldn't he just admit that he wanted to date her, in general, not just for work-related events?

"Oh, sort of," Amanda said acidly. Of course, what else had she expected? Lee would never actually ask her out on a real date. He was fine with being close to her when they were making love, but when things got too intense, he backed off and his behavior became aloof, belying the warm feelings she knew were there beneath his cool exterior. "You mean, it's...it's business." She fiddled nervously with the paint samples in her hand as she stammered in agitation, disappointment flowing through her. "It's not...uh...you know, it's not pleasure."

"No, no, no, that's where you're wrong. It is pleasure. For you, it will be pleasure. now, me, I may have to work just a little bit, but for you, it's just straight out pleasure," Suddenly not liking the direction he conversation was taking as he thought of all the times they'd taken pleasure in each other's arms, he stopped talking abruptly.

"Oh," Amanda said feeling awkward at his awkwardness. "Well, if it's gonna' be such a lot of fun, why don't you take that girl you're seeing now?" She turned to the fridge to avoid eye contact with him, making a big show of distracting herself with the task of straightening the photos tacked to it with magnets. "Who is it...Um...Margo? She's the current one, isn't she?"

"Margo and I aren't seeing each other anymore," Lee said, his voice overlapping her this time.

"Oh," she said facing him again with a smile. "You do go through them," she said cattily. She couldn't understand it. Every time they began to get closer, he'd start seeing someone new and act as if they'd never meant anything to each other. Why couldn't he see that she was here right in front of him? Didn't her realize that if he'd give her a chance, he wouldn't be in that boat? Hadn't she more than proven that she'd be there for him, no matter what?

"Wait, now, look, she took off with an airline pilot, okay?"He said rising from his seat angrily. His anger had more to do with the woman in front of him than the one who'd left him. After all, it was her fault that Margo had left; the way she'd cajoled and manipulated him into falling in love with her to the point that he couldn't think about anything or anyone else. She'd subtly wormed her way into her heart and his mind, leaving room for nothing and no one else and Margo had noticed, just like Gillian before her.

"Okay," she said holding her hands up in surrender.

"Okay," Lee said feeling a little calmer. _Damn her, _Lee thought. _How does she always do that? How does she have this uncanny ability to make me go from steaming mad as a grizzly to purring like a docile kitten in three seconds flat? _

At the party later that night, as they walked with Emily, Lee said to her, "Uh, Amanda, I wonder if you might mingle alone for a little while. I wanna' talk to Emily."

"Ohhhh," Amanda said, realization dawning as she looked around and then lowered her voice. "That's what this is all about; you two are on a case together."

Lee and Emily exchanged looks and Lee said, "What can I say, Emily, she just has this suspicious streak in her."

Emily laughed heartily at this, her own suspicious streak kicking in as she watched the exchange between the two of them with Amanda telling him she'd be okay and couldn't help noticing the way they were smiling at one another. Her amusement continued at Lee's flare of jealousy a short while later when he saw Amanda talking with their target. She wondered who he thought he was kidding. He wasn't irritated that it was Sidney Whitsett that she was talking to; he was mad that it was a man in general. It was obvious to her that Lee was deeply in love with the captivating young woman he'd arrived at the party with.

Amanda was in a state of panic at what was being done to her dining room, feeling helpless as Lee and Emily directed the setup team, telling them where to put things.

"You, Amanda, what do you think?" Emily asked her regarding the portrait of Lenin.

"Oh...uh...I don't know what to think," Amanda stammered.

"The point is what will Mr. Whitsett think?" Emily said.

"You know, I...um...I think I'll...uh...just leave you to it," Amanda said feeling very much in the way. She quickly exited the dining room, making a beeline for the stairs.

Emily nodded to Lee and gestured with her head for him to follow her. When Lee stared at her dumbfounded, she shoved him toward the door and said, "Go on, my boy. Amanda looks like she could use a little reassurance right now. I've got this covered." Lee shook his head and followed Amanda just as Emily was scolding one of the setup crew, "No, no, no, not there. Are you insane?"

Lee didn't catch up to Amanda until she was already in her bedroom. He hesitantly walked through the partially open door and closed it firmly behind him. He found her in her bathroom, fumbling with the clasp of her necklace. He reached for her arm and said, "Hey, are you okay?" causing her to jump. He abruptly removed his hand and said sheepishly, "Sorry."

"No, it's...um...it's okay. I...uh...I guess I should be used to it by now," Amanda said. "I'm sorry. I'm just...um...I'm just a little...overwhelmed by all of this."

"I know," he said softly. "And I'm sorry about all of this. If there was any other way..."

"Yeah, I know," she replied. "I...uh...I just feel..."

"I know," Lee said taking both of her hands in his, intending just to comfort her, but the contact jolted him and when his eyes locked with hers, comfort became the last thing on his mind.

"I...um...I'm just going to...uh..." Amanda pulled her hands from his and turned back toward the mirror working at her necklace again.

"Uh...yeah," Lee said. "Here, let me," he said when he saw her nervous fingers still struggling with the clasp. He gently pulled her hair back, undoing the clasp, his hands sliding to her shoulders as he re-fastened it in front of her. She took it from him and set it aside. He found his hands sliding to her waist. "Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?' he whispered in her ear.

Amanda blushed slightly and answered, "No, you...uh...you didn't."

"Well, you do," He said in a low voice as he raised one hand and lightly fingered the thin strap of her party dress.

Amanda turned to face him. "Well, you...uh...clean up pretty good yourself," Amanda said as she tugged at his bowtie.

Their eyes met again and neither quite sure who moved first, they were in each other's arms again, kissing feverishly, Amanda's arms around his neck, his around her waist. Amanda gasped as Lee's hands moved to cup her bottom, a tiny, "Oh," escaping her lips as he lowered his lips to her neck, finding the tender pulse point that he was so good at finding. She tugged at his tie to loosen it, quickly dropping it to the floor, then began to work on his shirt.

"Amanda," he whispered against her skin as he pressed her against the counter while his hands slipped under the skirt of dress to caress her thighs. The white dress she wore had been driving him crazy all night as it brought to mind another kind of white dress as he thought about how close he'd come to telling her just how much he loved her. He'd never really thought of himself as the marrying kind, but with her, everything was different.

"Lee," Amanda sighed as she slipped her hands inside his now open shirt to caress his bare chest while she felt him tugging at her panties, dropping them to her feet.

"Mmm," Lee moaned at the feel of Amanda's hands on him. He lifted her up onto the bathroom counter, and then dropped to his knees in front of her, hiking her dress up to her waist as he dove between her legs to taste her.

"Oh, Lee," she cried out at the contact as she gripped the edge of the counter for support while he made her wild with desire with his mouth, suckling and hipping at her, knowing just where to touch her to send her spiraling over the edge, the hammering in her heart drowning out the hammering coming from downstairs. She didn't even recognize her own voice as she heard herself screaming his name with the intensity of her climax as she bucked her hips against him, shaking uncontrollably.

Lee rose to his feet, grinned at her smugly and said, "Feeling calmer now?" She smacked at him playfully wanting to smack that cocky look off his face. Lee laughed and said, "Well?"

"Y-y-yes," she said through her still heavy breathing.

"Good," he said with a smile.

"Stop that," Amanda said with a pout.

"Stop what?" He said with a knowing smirk,

"You know what," she said. Deciding to take matters into her own hands to get him to stop with the looks, she hopped down from the counter and before he knew what was happening, she dropped his pants and boxers to the floor and had him in her mouth.

"Oh, God, Amanda," Lee groaned in delight wondering just how the hell she'd turned the tables on him so fast. "Ohhhh," he groomed again as she worked him furiously with her mouth, brining him so close to the edge that he knew he wasn't going to last much longer if he didn't stop her. "Amanda," he spat out as he tugged at her hands to pull her to her feet. "Stop, I want to..."

"Yes?" she said expectantly.

His answer was to kick off his shoes, shuck off his clothing, pull her into his arms again, and kiss her soundly while his hands found the straps of her dress to drop it to the floor, reveling in the feel of her bare body against his with no barriers remaining between them. He lowered his head to nip at her neck again, then murmured against her skin, "Let's take this to the bedroom."

"Mm-mm," Amanda replied, her panic rising again only for a different reason this time. Taking him to her bed would be just too much when he'd treated her so indifferently since their last encounter and had immediately started dating Margo. "Here, Now."

"Amanda," Lee growled in frustration as he pulled back from her to look into her eyes.

"I need you now," she pleaded.

Lee turned her around, braced her hands against the countertop, pushed into her from behind as yanked her hair aside again, this time not nearly as gently as he hand before, and clamped his mouth down on her neck. He raised his head for a moment as he pulled back and slammed into her watching with delight in the mirror as her facial expression changed. "Is this what you want?" he growled as he lowered his head again, biting down on her neck.

"Yes," she cried out. "I want you, all of you."

Spurred on by her cries, Lee gripped her hips and drove into her as hard as he could, suckling hard on her neck, knowing it would leave a mark, knowing that he'd get there before she did and not caring. He was feeling the need to show her what she did to him and a selfish need to punish her for flirting with Sidney Whitsett, for denying him access to her bed. He groaned loudly as he felt himself erupting into her all too soon, then feeling a little twinge of guilt, he slowed his movements and slid his hand between her legs to stroke her, needing to feel her tightening around him before it was too late. He was soon rewarded by her loud cries as her tight muscles around him milked him dry. "Amanda," he whimpered softly against her neck through his ragged breathing as he collapsed against her. He placed a tender kiss to the bruise he'd left behind and then pulled out of her, quickly gathering up his clothes, dressing as hurriedly as he could.

"Oh," Amanda whimpered at the loss of him. She turned to face him and said, "What are you doing?"

"I...um...I should get downstairs and help Emily set up for Phase Two."

"Right," Amanda said getting the message that he didn't want to talk about what had just transpired...as usual. She quickly hurried into her bedroom to her dresser to pull out her nightgown and by the time she'd pulled it over her head, Lee was emerging from the bathroom fully dressed. "I...Um...I'm going to call it a night," she said.

"Yeah, okay," He said, pausing for a moment hopefully, wondering if she might finally concede and invite him into her bed.

"So...um...goodnight," she said as she gestured toward the bedroom door.

_Guess not, _he thought sadly. "Yeah, goodnight," he said as he took the hint that he wasn't welcome in her bedroom now that she'd gotten what she wanted and left the room to focus on the case.

The following morning, Lee tried to ignore her and pretend to be engrossed in listening in on Emily's interrogation of Whitsett, but she wouldn't let him, insisting that he explain what was going on with Whitsett since he was in her house. He couldn't help smiling to see Amanda in a sweatshirt with a collared shirt underneath, no doubt to hide the evidence of their encounter of the night before. He had to wonder though, what the Georgetown sweatshirt was all about when he knew from her background check that she'd gone to UVA. He'd seen her wearing Georgetown gear before, but never could quite figure it out. He searched his memory banks for anything he'd seen in her initial background check about it, but drew a blank.

He thought about asking her about it, but their conversation was interrupted by Emily, then by Amanda's determination to get her painting done leaving him wondering what the hell was going on. He just couldn't quite figure her out. It was obvious that she had feelings for him, but she wouldn't acknowledge it and wouldn't let him acknowledge it. Then there was the fact that she seemed perfectly happy to let him do whatever he wanted to her in the throes of passion and took many liberties with him that he very much enjoyed, but yet she still staunchly refused to share her bed with him. "Oh, Amanda," he said with a sigh after she'd left and he prepared to make his call to Francine to bring her up to speed.

Later that afternoon after pretending that Emily had shot him, he finally had a moment alone with her. "Oh my gosh," she said when she saw his appearance.

"Relax, Amanda, it's okay. I'm fine. It's fake," Lee said.

"Oh," she said breathing a sigh of relief. "You know..uh...you should probably get that taken care of before it stains."

Lee chuckled that that was her next thought now that she knew he was okay. "I'll get to it later," Lee said.

"Oh, no, you should probably get to it now. You can let something like that set it. I...I could take care of it for you," Amanda offered.

"Yeah, sure," Lee said with a smile as he unbuttoned his shirt slowly and watched her reaction, her eyes widening a little. It was clear that she was thinking about how she'd nearly stripped him of the same tuxedo shirt last night. He made a show of taking a little longer to undo the cuffs at his wrists than was necessary, thoroughly enjoying making her uncomfortable.

Amanda cleared her throat loudly, turned from him and said, "I...uh...I'll just get the bleach while you're doing that." She made a hasty escape to the laundry room, taking her time to come back with the bleach. When she returned, she stopped short at finding Lee completely shirtless at the sink, sponging his torso down with a damp dishcloth. "I...um..." she licked her lips nervously then slammed the bottle of bleach on the counter. "What are you doing?"

"Just cleaning up," Lee said with an impish grin. "I hope you don't mind. This stuff is kind of sticky."

"Oh, no, of course...Yeah, I mean, I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable," Amanda said. _Liar, _she scolded herself. She'd like nothing better than to make him as uncomfortable as he was making her and she knew he was doing it on purpose. She forced herself to look away from the way he was slowly running the cloth across his chest, reached for his discarded shirt and began filling the sink with water to soak it in while he used the other side. Just when she thought she couldn't take anymore of him being bare-chested so close to her, he moved away and pulled on the pale blue shirt he'd been wearing earlier, causing her to breathe a sigh of relief.

"So, Amanda, I have a question for you," Lee said.

"Shoot," she said without turning around, busying herself with his shirt.

"You...uh...you went to UVA, right?"

"Mm-hmm," She answered.

"Hmm, then what's the deal with all the Georgetown shirts? I've noticed you've got several of them."

"Oh," she said seeing the opportunity for a little payback. "Well, Joe went to Georgetown."

"Joe?" he questioned. Who the hell was Joe? Was she seeing someone else? He again searched his memory banks trying to recall if she'd ever mentioned anyone named Joe.

"Yeah, Joe," she said as she turned to face him. "You know, Joe _King_, my ex-husband who I was married to for ten years, the reason that I'm Amanda _King_, the father of my children, Phillip and Jamie _King_." _Take that_, she thought with a grin at seeing his face fall at the blunt reminder that he wasn't the only one with a past. He had flaunted his girls in front of her so it felt good to get a little payback.

"Right, your...uh...your ex," he said feeling stupid. As many times as he'd looked at her background info, he should have known that, but in his mind, he'd tried to suppress anything related to her faceless and up until now, nameless ex-husband. He was going to have to remind himself to look at her background stuff again to find out more. What a putz the guy must be if he left a beautiful, desirable woman like her behind. "So...um...ten years, huh? That's a long time. That... um...must have been quite a blow when it ended," Lee said burning with curiosity now as he wondered just what had caused it to end. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Amanda said evasively turning back to Lee's stained shirt in the sink.

"Nothing? Ten years of marriage just ended like that?" Lee said with a snap of his fingers.

"No, not just like that," Amanda said turning to face him, shock evident on her face. "I didn't choose to end my marriage lightly. I tried everything to make it work because I believe that when you promise to be with someone for life, that's what you're supposed to do." She sighed. "Look, it doesn't matter. It's done and over with, part of the past." She was regretting now ever bringing it up.

"But why? I mean, if you once loved him enough to marry him..."

"I-" Amanda was spared answering by Emily entering the room.

Emily picked up on the tension between the two immediately. "Well, our little charade worked like a charm," she said as she tugged the wig off her head. Whitsett sang like a canary. How's everyone in here?"

"Fine," Lee and Amanda answered simultaneously and not very convincingly.

"You know, I need to get clean up," Lee said making a hasty escape up the stairs.

"What's wrong with him," Emily asked as she glanced at the door.

Amanda changing the subject focused her attention solely on Lee's shirt in front of her, saying dramatically, "Oh, the things you people do in your business."

Emily chuckled at Amanda's very obvious attempt to hide her feelings and decided to play along, "I admit it's not like other jobs."

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That evening, after the house had been restored and the boys were in bed, Amanda sat on the couch, half-heartedly perusing the evening paper when her mother entered the room. "So, now that the children are asleep, do you want to tell me what really happened while we were away?"

"Oh, so, Mrs. Gilstrap was making up more stories when she said she saw you coming home the other night in a party dress with two men, one of whom looked like he was passed out drunk?"

"Mother," Amanda sighed in exasperation, though she cringed a little. That was exactly what she'd worried about when Lee and Emily had brought Sidney Whitsett to her house, that the neighbors would think she'd brought a drunk man home from the party.

"Or maybe Mrs. Daley was making up stories when she said she saw that silver sports car in the driveway off and on this weekend. Or maybe I was hearing things when I came downstairs and hour ago or so and heard you and Mrs. Farnsworth talking about a man named Lee?"

"You were eavesdropping on us?" Amanda said, her eyes narrowing.

"No, not eavesdropping. I was planning to make a cup of hot chocolate and I couldn't help hearing your conversation. It seemed that she was asking you what your relationship with him was. This Lee, is he the man you've been seeing?"

"Mother..."

Taking her reaction as confirmation, she nodded, "Lee what?"

"No, Mother," Amanda said firmly.

"So, your friend, Mrs. Farnsworth knows who he is, but I'm not allowed to? Is that it?" Dotty said the hurt evident in her tone, "And what about this drunk man?"

"Look, Mother, Emily knows him because she was helping us out on our latest...um...film project. The...um...the drunk man was our contact and he...um...overindulged a little at the party we went to, that's all. He's not from around here and neither is Emily, Lee only lives in a one-bedroom apartment, so logically, we thought the best place for him to sleep it off was on the couch here."

"Hmmm," Dotty said thoughtfully. "That still doesn't answer my question about your mystery lover. Why is it that she gets to know everything about him and I don't?"

"Mother, they've worked together before. In fact, she's known him longer than I have. Besides, she's not going to try to marry me off to him."

"That's what this is really about, isn't it, Amanda? You're afraid that if I knew who he was, I'd do something crazy, don't you? What is it you're afraid I'll do, lecture him about the way he's been sneaking around with my only daughter?" Truth be told, the thought had crossed her mind.

"Are you telling me that you wouldn't?"Amanda fired back.

"Amanda, Darling, you know me better than that. I'm not one to pry into your private life. All I want is for you to be happy."

"I know, Mother, but the answer is still no," Amanda said. "For the record, I _am_ happy." She didn't yet have everything that she wanted with Lee, but they'd made up a little since the tension had arisen between them the night before. She smiled fondly at the memory of him blowing her a kiss at the liquor store and his smile at her when leaving her house with the portrait of Lenin. Her smile widened as she wondered where this would all lead them.


	33. Pretty Firmly Hooked

**Chapter 33-Pretty Firmly Hooked**

"Ship of Spies"

After Emiliano had left, Lee looked at Amanda and the nervous look on her face. "Uh...Amanda..."

"Yeah," She replied her irritation with him showing plainly on her face.

Lee glanced at the tiny bed in the corner of the cabin. "I...uh...I know what you're thinking, but..." He crossed the room quickly and opened the door, "Voila! Adjoining rooms," he said with a smile.

"Mmm," was Amanda's only reply as she looked away from him to prevent herself from getting caught up in his adorable smile and forget why she was mad at him.

Lee's face fell at seeing the look on hers and said nervously, "That's _not_ what you're thinking?"

She turned back to face him, eyes flaring and let him have it, "No, it isn't. It _really _isn't. What I was thinking is, is that you've have plenty of time to tell me all the details about our assignment." She began counting off on her fingers as she spoke, her voice rising, "You could have told me in the supermarket, you've could have told me in the car on the way to the airport, you could have even told me in the airplane."

"All right, maybe I should have said something," Lee conceded.

"_Maybe_ you should have said something?" Amanda repeated incredulously. "Lee, on a need to know basis, I think maybe this time I had a need to know."

"Okay, okay, I apologize," Lee said in defeat.

"Well, why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because I didn't think you'd agree to come along," Lee admitted.

"Well, why not?" Amanda asked with a shrug of her shoulders, a look of confusion on her face.

"Because I know how strongly you feel about marriage. Look, Amanda, I have two whole days to wrap up this investigation. We won't even get as far as the ceremony, believe me."

"Wait a minute," Amanda said worriedly as a thought struck her.

"What?"

"What if we do?" She had no problem pretending to be his fiancée, but to actually marry him strictly for a cover would be just too much when he couldn't even admit that there was something between them.

"We won't," Lee said with more confidence than he felt.

"What if we did? What if we had to go through with it and get married so we wouldn't blow our cover?" Panic set in as she thought of that. While she'd often thought of what it would be like if Lee would ever come clean with his feelings for her to the point that their relationship would lead to marriage, this was not the way she would want something like that to happen.

"Yeah," Lee said her words sinking in. While he'd thought many times of marrying Amanda, especially seeing her in that white, flowing dress she'd worn to the party last week, he wouldn't want to marry her under these circumstances.

"Yeah?" Amanda questioned in shock, utterly amazed that that thought had never occurred to him.

"Yeah...uh..." he stammered nervously. "I've got work to do...and...uh...I've gotta' go." As luck would have it, she wouldn't let him just make a graceful exit and insisted on knowing what he was up to, so as quickly as he could, he explained, then made a hasty retreat.

The following night, in Lee's cabin after Amanda's near death experience, they were discussing the situation trying to decide whether Amanda should stay or go.

"We'll have to get married," Lee said, the realization sinking in.

At seeing the stunned look on both of their faces, Emiliano said, "Perhaps, I should leave you two to discuss this," then left the room as quickly as he could.

"So...um...We...uh...should talk about this," Lee said with an intent look at Amanda as he thought of the possibilities. _Damn it, what is it with her and the white dresses, _he thought as his mind wandered to the idea of her in another white dress tomorrow.

"I...uh...don't see what there is to talk about," Amanda said.

"You don't see..." Lee gaped at her in surprise. He sighed and then crossed the room to sit across from her on the loveseat, took her hands in his and said softly, "Amanda, we're talking about marriage here." He idly thumbed the engagement ring on her finger as he waited for her response. When she was silent, he said, "I...uh...I mean, after our talk last week, I know how you feel about marriage and I..."

"Lee, stop, this isn't necessary," Amanda said, squeezing his hands reassuringly. "I...uh...mean, it's our cover, right?" She chuckled nervously. "I mean, it's...uh...it's not like you...um...would ever want to...uh...to marry me for real. We...um...we'll just play our cover and...uh...then..." she found that she couldn't finish the thought, the idea of another marriage ending, even if it wasn't a real one, was utterly abhorrent to her.

Amanda's nervous stammering was cut off by Lee's lips on hers as he released her hands to clasp the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair, pulling her tightly to him as he nipped at her lips, his tongue darting out to encourage her to open to him.

Amanda responded to Lee's fervent kiss the only way she knew how, clutching his head as she opened her mouth to his, hopeful that this meant that the idea of marrying her wasn't totally distasteful to him. She moaned against him as he pulled her into his lap, one hand sliding beneath her dress to caress her bare thigh beneath it. She trembled at his touch, her emotions getting the better of her at the tenderness of his hand on her skin. She reflected on the events of the past few days, how he'd linked his arm with hers, held her hand repeatedly, how he'd kept this arm at the small of her back when they walked together and after her accident, had thoughtfully removed his own jacket to warm her chilled body. She knew without a doubt that these were not things that he did just to maintain their cover, but because he was every bit as much in love with her as she was with him, even if he wouldn't own up to it.

The heat of their kisses grew as the excitement built between them, Lee groaning, but never breaking their kiss as he felt Amanda's hand opening his pants and slipping her hand inside to stroke him. He plundered her mouth with his own, his tongue darting in and out of her mouth mimicking the age-old dance that he found he couldn't get enough of with her. He slid his hand up further to delve inside the satiny thong she wore beneath her dress. Sooner than he wanted to, he felt Amanda pulling back from their fiery kiss; disappointment flooding through him, that feeling soon replaced by a different feeling entirely as Amanda shifted to fully straddle him and guided him into her, all the while gazing intently into his eyes.

Amanda braced her hands on Lee's shoulders and began to rock against him, pushing him deeper inside of her. She locked eyes with him and raised her left hand to caress his face as she felt him pushing against her, the momentum building as they picked up the pace together, both needing the completion that they could only find with each other. Lee clasped the hand on his face, gazed for a moment at the sparking diamond ring he'd placed there the day before, placed a soft kiss to her palm, then released it, lowering his own hand back between them to touch her center, knowing just the right place to touch her to bring her over the edge.

"Lee," Amanda gasped as the pleasure of his touches and his hard length inside her took over. She leaned into him, clamped her mouth down on his neck, nipping and tugging at his skin with her teeth as he lowered his own mouth to her shoulder, sliding the strap of her dress down with his free hand to give himself full access to her soft skin as they rocked together. "Oh, God," she cried as her climax took her over leaving her shaking uncontrollably and gasping for breath.

Lee removed his hand from her, pushed her backward onto the couch, braced one foot against the floor and drove into her as hard as he could while the tremors from her orgasm still assailed her. Feeling her trembling beneath him, her tight muscles clenching around him sent him spiraling over the edge with her. "Amanda," He groaned as pumped furiously into her, emptying himself within her. "Oh, Amanda," he said just before he collapsed atop her, peppering her face and neck with soft kisses. He couldn't help thinking of Amanda's words to Mile and Jillian about him being pretty firmly hooked. Boy, did she ever have that right.

Once his breathing had slowed, Lee pulled back to look at her and said with an impish grin, "You know, this is one part of being married to you that wouldn't be all that bad," earning him a resounding smack on the arm from Amanda.

"Hey," she said, but couldn't help laughing. As they both sat up and began to right their clothing, her thoughts turned serious again and she said, "What are we gonna' do?"

Lee sighed and said, "Just what you said, I guess. We'll play our cover and deal with the rest when it comes." He paused for a bear and said, "Would it be totally horrible...being married to me, I mean?"

"No, it wouldn't be _totally_ horrible," Amanda said honestly as she rose to her feet and smoother her dress out, then nodded toward the loveseat where he still sat, "Especially not that part, but there is one part that would be and that's you and your girls, the Cindis and Margos and Gillians..."

"Amanda..."Lee began but then stopped. How could he explain to her that those women didn't mean anything and in fact, were a desperate attempt to hide from his intense feelings for her and selfishly to even make her a little jealous so she'd admit to her own feelings for him?

"Look, it's been a long day and it's getting late. We should both get some sleep," Amanda said and without giving him a chance to respond hurried through the door to her own room slamming the door behind her. She sank wearily onto the bed and let the tears that had been threatening finally fall, burying her face in her hands as her misery took her over. The cool metal of the engagement ring against her skin caught her attention.

She wiped her tears away and slipped the ring from her finger to examine it more closely. It wasn't the same ring she'd worn on other occasions when undercover as his wife. She'd noticed that from the moment that he'd placed it on her finger. As she looked at it, she noticed the inscription on the inside of it and moved to hold it under the lamp to read it. "MS and JH, 1949," she read aloud. She glanced to the closed door between their adjoining cabins and wondered what that was all about. She knew that his father's first name was Matthew, but she realized that she didn't know that much about his mother. Was she the JH in the inscription? The timing would have fit since Lee was born in 1950. She smiled slightly at the idea that he'd given her his mother's engagement ring to wear, even if it was just for a cover assignment.

She reflected back on their initial meeting with Mile and Jillian and their differing answers on the length of their engagement and her comment about him being pretty firmly hooked. She knew that it was true. He was just as hooked on her as she was on him, so why was he too stubborn to admit it? Why did he keep seeing other women? _Like you have any room to talk, _she scolded herself. She was just as stubborn about admitting her deep feelings for him, terrified of being the first one to say it and have him just deny that he reciprocated those feelings, the way he'd done many times after they'd been particularly close. Why was it that he could be so open when they were making love, yet so closed off the rest of the time?

Lee stared in silence at the closed door that now stood between him and the woman he loved. He sighed at her abrupt departure. He had seriously thought about going after her to explain to her what he'd really meant during their talk about marriage and to explain to her about the other women that he'd dated. "Oh, what's the use?" he muttered as he flung himself onto his bed in frustration. He reflected on her reaction when he put the engagement ring on her finger, how shocked she'd been, how angry she'd been with him later for not telling her ahead of time what their cover was.

Now, they were going to be forced to get married to maintain that cover, an idea that had some appeal to him, but was clearly distasteful to her. How was he going to get out of this? While he'd love the idea of having something more permanent with her, she obviously didn't want that. That would mean dissolving their marriage as soon as they got back to DC, a thought that filled him with dread. After their conversation last week about her divorce, he'd realized very quickly that she still had some residual pain left over from that and he couldn't bear the thought of putting her through that again, even if they hadn't planned to get married.

As he thought about it, he wondered if she even realized that it was his mother's ring that she was wearing; if she knew how much that meant to him. It had been a matter of necessity since this case was a last-minute deal and he hadn't had time to get the fabrication guys to work up a decent cover for them. "That's it," he said sitting upright as an idea struck him. He'd just fabricate his information on the marriage license, making it invalid. That would work. Then they wouldn't have to deal with the awkwardness of what to do with their marriage once they got home. It would be easy enough to use one of the cover names that he'd used in the past. He nodded firmly and said, "That'll work."

The following day, when meeting Amanda in the assembly line of couples waiting to say their vows, Lee found he couldn't stop looking at her in her satin and lace-wedding gown. She looked so beautiful that he was beginning to regret that he'd falsified his information. It would have been interesting to see how this would have played out if they were legally married.

Amanda glanced at Lee, caught him looking at her and then sighed when he abruptly looked away and shifted awkwardly, obviously uncomfortable with the thought that she'd caught him staring at her. Oh, well, it gave her the opportunity to look at him anyway and man, did he look good. She'd always loved the way he looked in a tuxedo.

Lee resolutely stared straight ahead watching the couple ahead of them as they exchanged vows. He was determined that he was not going to be caught in the act of staring shamelessly at his bride again. He nodded briefly at the couple as they made their way past them while Amanda congratulated them. He turned just slightly to Amanda and said, "Let's go."

"I can't," she said a hint of nervousness in her voice.

"Why," he said more sternly that he'd intended to. Did she hate the idea of marrying him that much?

"You're on my dress," Amanda replied.

"Oh," He said with a sigh of relief that that was all it was. He linked his arm with hers and they stepped forward walking down the short aisle to the bored-looking minister. _Where'd they get this guy, _Lee thought as they said their vows, he slipped the gold band on her finger. Then came the moment of truth; the kiss. Why was he so nervous about it? He'd kissed her many times, more than kissed her, so why was this any different? He knew the answer without asking the question. It was their wedding day and even though he knew that it wasn't going to be legal, she didn't. He slowly raised the veil from her face and before he knew what was happening, they were leaning toward each other. He kissed her softly, then again and almost kissed her a third time. He felt sometimes as if he couldn't get enough of her kisses. He smiled when she chuckled nervously and wiped her lipstick from his mouth and he found he couldn't resist kissing the tips of her fingers as she did so. Why was it that he could be so cool and confident when he was making love to her, but any other time he was like a nervous teenager who stumbled over his words around her? He cleared his throat loudly, took her arm in his again and they marched back down the aisle. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the refreshment table and made a break for it, tugging Amanda with him, nodding in acknowledgment of the half-hearted congratulations coming from other couples as they passed by."Here...Um..." he said awkwardly as he released Amanda's arm and reched for two glasses of champagne.

"Oh, yes," Amanda replied. She could definitely use a drink right now. He thoughts were reeling with the events of the day and the idea that she was now Lee's wife. She couldn't get her mind off those two soft kisses after they'd said their vows, or they way that he'd looked at her as if he'd really meant those words. While he'd kissed her before, there was something different this time. Their prior kisses had been fiery, furious, passion-filled kisses. Their kissed to seal their marriage vows were not. He'd never kissed her so tenderly before. It made her wonder what was going to happen when they got back home.

She shifted her bouquet to one hand to take the offered drink, chuckled nervously and said, "It's fake. Heh-heh. Too bad they're not real. It would have been nicer." She wondered if Lee got her true meaning behind that statement. The whole wedding would have been nicer if it were real, if they hadn't been forced to say "I do" just to protect their cover.

Lee shifted for a moment, Amanda's true meaning perfectly clear to him. He wanted to call her out on it, instead he said, "Yeah, well, at least your...uh...18-karat wedding ring is real, huh?"

"Yeah," Amanda said and smiled slightly as she looked down at it, wondering if it had also been his mother's. That thought quickly flew out of her head though as another thought struck her. She quickly explained to Lee what her thought was and before she knew they were back on the case again, the real reason for their wedding.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As they were walking out of the bullpen after learning that they were never legally married, Amanda was fully prepared to let Lee have it again for withholding yet another piece of information.

"Uh, Amanda, some..." Lee began, not sure what he should say to her. He'd purposely not told her that he'd forged his information to invalidate their marriage because he desperately wanted to know how she'd react to it once they were back in the real world and the honeymoon was over. He'd been disappointed to find that her first thought was to have it annulled. He sighed. He supposed it didn't matter. He wasn't the marrying kind anyway, was he?"

"Yeah?" She replied wondering what he was going to say to justify his keeping secrets from her yet again.

"Some...uh...some strange things happened on that assignment and...um...what I'm really trying to say is that...uh...you know..." he paused for a moment and tried again, "Well, what I'm saying is...whatever happened was..." Amanda, unwilling to give him an inch of wiggle room just nodded and looked at him expectantly, "...well, if was all part of the job."

"I know," She said with another nod. "It was all part of the job." If he could play it that way, so could she. She wasn't about to be the first one to admit what they both knew, that there was more to it and the idea of getting married had stirred something in both of them.

"Yeah, and we were, just...you know...playing our covers," Lee continued, disappointed again that she had agreed with him. He'd been hoping that she'd argue with him. Why wouldn't she acknowledge that the moment they'd shared during their wedding was more than just a cover?

"I know. We were playing our covers," Amanda said, knowing exactly what he was fishing for, but unwilling to give him the satisfaction after making her stew and worry about what would happen when they got home when the whole time, he'd known it wasn't legal.

"Right," Lee said, "And nothing more to it?" The last part came out as more of a question than a statement, Lee once again hoping that she'd disagree with him.

"Nothing more to it," Amanda said with a shake of her head, immensely enjoying his awkwardness.

"So, can I have my ring back?" Lee asked just as Amanda said, "Let me give you your ring." They both chuckled awkwardly as Amanda pulled the ring from her purse and pushed it onto his pinky, both smiling at it for a moment.

"So, I should get going," Amanda said and hurriedly made her escape.

Lee was about to make his way back into the bullpen when Francine stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, pushing him backward to keep him from entering. "Not so fast," she said.

"What?" Lee said impatiently.

"Don't give me the big eyes and the "what" like you're surprised. What exactly did you tell Amanda about your cover assignment?"

"What?"

"Again with the "what." Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about. I saw the look on Amanda's face when you told her you faked your information. She didn't know, did she?"

"So what?"

"So what? Are you kidding me? You had to go through with the wedding ceremony and you never bothered to tell her that it wasn't real? I'll bet you even used is as an excuse to have your way with her again. I can just see it now, the honeymoon cruise, Amanda getting all swept up in the romance of the wedding and you just lapping it up, taking advantage of the poor, naive little housewife. That's low, even for you."

"Francine, once again, you don't know what you're talking about. I didn't take advantage of anything. I forged my information at the last minute and there just wasn't time to tell her about it because right after the wedding, we were chasing the bad guys, which you would know if you'd read my report."

"So, nothing happened between you and Amanda...after the wedding, I mean."

"No," Lee answered. _Not after the wedding, but there was definitely some action the night before, _he thought with a smile. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got work to do." Lee then pushed past her and made his way to his desk. As he sat down, he couldn't help but notice the ring still on his finger. He slid it off and looked at the engraving that he knew by heart, a pang of sadness gripping him as he thought of his long-dead parents. He then smiled as he thought of how good his mother's ring had looked on Amanda's finger and how much he didn't want her to give it back. He sighed as he thought of the missed opportunity. Maybe someday, he'd give it back to her for real. _Stop it, _he scolded himself. That would never happen. He shoved the ring into his pocket to get his mind off it and turned his attention to the pile of paperwork that had accumulated on his desk in his absence, burying himself in work to avoid any further thoughts of marriage to Amanda. He was pretty firmly hooked, all right.


	34. Bogged Down in Hurt Feelings

**Chapter 34-Bogged Down in Hurt Feelings**

"Spiderweb"

Lee sat at the table at Chez Tayir getting more restless by the minute as they waited for the Romanian defector to arrive. His agitation was only made worse at seeing Amanda walk in the door...with another man. "Amanda," He said startled.

"What's she doing here?" Billy asked Lee accusingly. "You tell her anything about Spiderweb?" He'd known for a while that there was more to Lee and Amanda's personal relationship than either was letting on and was now concerned that Lee had let his normal cool professionalism lapse. He knew when putting them together, that Amanda would most likely be the only one who could break through Lee's icy exterior. He just hoped for the sake of national security that it hadn't been too much.

"Of course not," Lee answered. It's gotta' be a coincidence."He turned his attention back to Amanda and her date. Who was this guy and why was she with another guy at all? He'd thought after their near-marriage last week that would have sewn things up for them. "Who's the stiff?"

"I would hardly call Bryce Topping a stiff," Francine scoffed, amusement dancing her eyes at Lee's little flare of jealousy.

"Who the hell is Bryce Topping?" Lee spat out, glancing briefly at Francine before turning his attention back to Amanda.

"Well, you would know if you ever read the society pages, He's a regular, old money, brilliant law career..." She couldn't resist getting a little dig in at Lee for his infatuation with Amanda as she added, "...and obviously pretty kinky."

Once again startled, Lee turned back to Francine and said, "What?"

"Well, come on, Lee, A suburban housewife?" She said with a grin directed at his indiscretions with Amanda.

Lee glared at her for a moment, ignored her jibe and attempted to hide his face as Amanda neared their table with her date.

Amanda was chatting with her date, saying, "I think it's wonderful that you could get a table without even a reservation," but then halted abruptly, startled by coming face to face with the man who occupied so many of her thoughts, not to mention her dreams. She knew she'd given herself away as the look of guilt that crossed her face when she saw him there said it all. As Lee quickly pointed to indicate that she should go on about her evening and follow the host. She turned to her date, smiled and awkwardly said, "Yes," as they were shown to their table. She'd had a pleasant enough evening, but now her thoughts were no longer on her date.

Since Billy and Francine were with Lee, they were no doubt on a case, one that her low-level clearance didn't give her access to. Now, not only was she feeling guilty about being on a date, but she was also worried and feeling a little guilty that her presence there may jeopardize some top-secret mission. She found that she could no longer focus on the man in front of her as the man she really wanted kept shooting daggers at her with his eyes in between glances toward the door as if he were looking for someone. "Listen, maybe coffee wasn't such a good idea," She said to her date. As the conversation became more awkward, her guilt became more pronounced. Why was it that the looks Lee was shooting her made her feel as if she were somehow cheating on him by going on a simple movie date? Having finally convinced Bryce to leave, they made their way to the door when all hell broke loose.

When she returned home, Amanda shifted nervously at Bryce's insistence on walking her to her door and seeing her safely into the house. While she thought it was chivalrous of him to want to ensure her safety after the events of the evening, she knew their goodnight would be just as awkward as the drive home had been. He'd been so shaken by the evening's turn of events that he had wanted to talk about nothing else while she hedged when he asked her opinion about it, not wanting to reveal that she knew who Lee and the others were, particularly, her involvement with Lee.

When they reached her door, he reached to place his arms on her shoulders, a gesture so reminiscent of Lee's when he was concerned for her safety that she shifted uncomfortably. "You've been awfully quiet about what happened tonight," he said in concern. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Oh, yes," She said then began to babble nervously. "I mean, it was...you know...unexpected and I...uh...I can't imagine what on earth was going on that that man would just open fire like that in a public place. I mean, I don't know what he could have been thinking. So many people could have been hurt or killed...and that man at the door, he was killed and..."

"I'm just glad that you weren't hurt," her date said warmly with a smile at her, leaning in closer.

_Oh no, here it comes, _she thought. This was the moment she'd been dreading since they'd walked into the restaurant and she'd felt that familiar flutter at seeing Lee there. She turned her head at the last second, Bryce's attempt at a good-might kiss landing on her cheek instead of his intended target. "I...um...I'm sorry," she stammered. "I...um...I'm just...you know...a little upset...you know...by what happened tonight."

"I understand. This wasn't exactly what I had planned for a first date," he said. "So...um...I...um...I guess I'll call you," he added hopefully.

"Um...okay, good-night," She said, then as an afterthought as he began to walk away, added, "I...I...um...I had a nice time tonight...You know, until..."

"Yeah," He replied, "Good-night."

Amanda sighed as her date left and she made her way into the house to face the interrogation she knew was coming from her mother. Sure, enough, she hadn't even finished removing her coat when her mother was on her like bees on honey, "How was your date?" Dotty inquired hopefully.

"Fine," Amanda answered with a noncommittal shrug as she hung her coat up.

"Fine?" Dotty questioned the disappointment evident in her voice. "That's it? That doesn't sound very promising..."

"Mother, it was just a first date and to the movies," Amanda said. "That's it."

Dotty continued as if Amanda hadn't spoken, "I mean, Bryce Topping is _quite_ the catch and the two of you have something in common. You're both single parents. You met at the PTA, after all. I know it may not be as exciting as your on-again-off-again romance with this Lee fellow, but at least he has the courtesy to pick you up at the door and take you out on a proper date."

Amanda sighed and said, "Mother, what were you expecting, that Bryce would sweep me off my feet and we'd start making wedding plans, like in some grand fairy tale?"

"There are worse things that could happen, you know. What's wrong with the idea of getting married again? Lord knows you could use some stability in your life and so could your children," Dotty said.

"The boys have stability in their lives," Amanda said. "You know that no matter what, I always put them first."

"I know, my darling, and you're a wonderful mother, but don't you think that it's time they had a real father-figure in their lives instead of you trying to be both mother _and_ father to them?"

"They have a father, Mother," Amanda said as she stepped up to the staircase landing in an attempt to get away from her mother's incessant questioning.

"Not so you'd notice," Dotty said sarcastically as she followed her daughter up the stairs. "Don't get me wrong, Joe is a wonderful father to them when he's around, but how often is that? And he never was there for you as a husband should be. If you recall, that's why you two divorced in the first place."

"Yes, Mother, I'm aware of all the reasons that Joe and I split up," she said as she stepped into her bedroom and violently kicked off her heels into her closet. "I was there, but I don't see why that should mean that every date that I go on has to have the potential to lead to marriage in your eyes. Sometimes a date is just that, a date. I don't even know if I'm going to see Bryce again."

"It's this Lee, isn't it?" Dotty said folding her arms across her chest as she leaned against the doorframe of her daughter's room.

"Mother, no," Amanda denied, but she knew it was a lie. It didn't matter that Bryce was a successful attorney who'd be a catch to any woman who managed to land him, or that he was a very nice man with whom she did have a lot in common. He wasn't Lee Stetson. Even though he'd acted heroically in shielding both her and Francine from the flying bullets tonight, she just couldn't get excited about him the way she did Lee. Just a look from Lee tonight had set her on fire when Bryce's attempt to kiss her had only left her cold.

"I think it is," Dotty said, "Just like I said when you were dating that art dealer, Alan what's-his-name or that David...um..."

"Benson," Amanda supplied.

"Right," Dotty said. "Whatever happened to him? He was a charming man and you only had one date with him. Or Alan for that matter?"

"It just didn't work out," Amanda answered evasively, not about to share with her mother that both of them were now in a federal prison and that David Benson had been a spy turned traitor who had tried to kill the man she truly loved.

"Obviously, it didn't work out," Dotty said. "The question is _why _didn't it work out?" Without giving Amanda a chance to answer, she continued. "I'll tell you why it didn't work out with either of them and why it won't work out with Bryce either. You can't get your mind off of this burning, passionate love affair you've been having with Lee, a man whose last name you won't even tell me, a man I've never met, who's never called you to ask you on a date properly or come to the front door like a normal boyfriend."

"That's because he's _not_ my boyfriend," Amanda protested.

"Well, have you ever asked him why? Haven't you ever questioned what his intentions are regarding your relationship? I mean, Amanda, this...this thing between you has been going on for a year and a half now and I have yet to hear any talk of your future with him. Have the two of you even discussed marriage?"

"Mother," Amanda said with a roll of her eyes as she moved to her dresser to remove her jewelry, but cringed slightly at the thought of their near-marriage just a week ago. Yes, they'd discussed marriage, but only as it pertained to their cover. She wondered what would happen if they'd ever have an open, honest conversation about it or the fact that for a few short days, he'd entrusted his mother's engagement ring to her, which was a blatant contradiction as he'd made it clear he wasn't ready to entrust her with his heart. "Look, Mother, I'm really very tired, so if you don't mind, I'd like to get to bed."

"Of course, Darling," Dotty said giving her daughter a quick kiss on the cheek before exiting the room.

After her mother's departure, Amanda quickly closed the door behind her and began to get undressed for bed, reaching into her closet for a hanger for her dress. As she did so, her mind kept drifting back to the wedding of a week ago. Shoving aside the numerous hangers, she stepped fully into her closet and gazed longingly at the wedding dress that she'd hidden there behind all of her normal clothing. She knew she needed to do something with it before her mother found it and began asking even more questions, but she just couldn't bring herself to part with it. That day had set her emotions on a roller coaster ride with the way that Lee had kissed her so tenderly, the look he'd given her when he'd slipped the wedding ring on her finger, they way that he'd kissed the tips of her fingers when she'd wiped her lipstick from his mouth, how his gaze had lingered on hers for just a moment before the spell had been broken.

Amanda sighed once again as she moved to hide the offending garment again before returning to her dresser to extract her cotton nightgown and pull it over her head. As she turned out the light and climbed into her bed, her thoughts were assailed by their encounter in her bathroom of two weeks ago, and how he'd wanted to move it to the bedroom. She wondered now what things would be like between them if she'd let him in enough to invite him into her bed. Would that have changed the events that followed when they'd been forced to go through with the wedding ceremony? She reached for the empty pillow beside her, clutching it to her tightly, imagining what it would be like to have Lee beside her as she attempted to sleep. She decided then and there that if Bryce was true to his word and called her, there would definitely not be a second date.

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Two days later, after being ordered to search Amanda's house and peppering her with questions to get to the bottom of things and to try to prove to Mitch Larner that the woman he loved was not a traitor, he couldn't resist asking just one more question. "What were you and that polo player doing at the Chez Tayir the other night and where the hell did you meet him anyw-?"

"If you're talking about Bryce Topping... Amanda said interrupting him.

"Yes, Bryce Topping," Lee said sarcastically, the edge in his voice sounding harsh and a little childish, even to him, but he had to know, especially since Amanda had told him that she and Bryce had both been upset about the incident at the restaurant. To make matters worse, she'd said that she'd been awake all night, making him wonder just what she'd been doing to keep her awake all night. It didn't make sense to him. Once minute, she was talking about her date and the next; she'd been telling him how glad she was that he hadn't been hurt. Was she purposely trying to keep him confounded?

"Lee, Bryce has a little boy in Jamie's class. I met him at the PTA. He asked me to go to the movies, I said yes," Amanda explained, but smiled slightly at Lee's obvious display of jealousy. The look on his face once again made her feel as if she'd been unfaithful to him and made her feel the strong need to defend her actions.

As their conversation continued, more of the pieces began to come together for Lee as he realized what an elaborate setup had been orchestrated against Amanda. He explained to her what had been going one and the saddened look on her face made him feel incredibly guilty for following orders. "Look, let's not get bogged down in hurt feelings," he said, though he knew he didn't have any room to talk as his feelings had been hurt by seeing Amanda out on a date. What the hell was she thinking? Didn't she know by now that he was nuts about her? He sighed. He knew it was his own damn fault because while he was crazy in love with her, he didn't quite have the courage to tell her. That would open him up to getting his heart broken again or potentially losing her as he had Dorothy due to the danger of their work. He couldn't seem to talk her out of continuing her work with the agency, which on one hand made him happy because he still got to see her, but on the other hand, terrified him to no end at the idea of her getting hurt in the line of duty.

"It's all right," Amanda said with more pep than she felt. "My feelings are not hurt." In truth, her feelings _were_ hurt, not just by this incident, but by the callous way he'd tried to blow off what had happened between them during their wedding ceremony, that that tender, loving kisses they'd shared had seemingly meant nothing to him. The hurt this had caused her is what had led her to accepting the date with Bryce in the first place and now he was acting as if she had no right to accept a date with another man, even though he clearly wasn't ready to openly date her. If he'd only give her some sign that he wanted her for more than their incredible sex life, she'd have never even thought of going out with anyone else. She thought about her conversation with her mother in the car of just mere minutes ago when she was once again pumping her for information about her love life and her comment to her, "Sometimes I care and sometimes I don't." The truth was that after the first date, she knew there was no future with Bryce. She just couldn't quite bring herself to tell her mother that, knowing that she'd just bring up Lee again and that, in her mind, was a taboo subject. How could she explain her relationship with Lee to her mother when she couldn't even explain it to herself?

As they continued to talk and he explained the elaborate setup against her, Lee couldn't help but wonder if they weren't able to clear her name, what would happen to her. She'd be put away for treason and the only way that he'd see her is through a glass partition. After mentioning that if they could figure out who was setting her up, they'd have their double agent and seeing that she still looked worried, he couldn't help wanting to comfort her. He took her hands in his and said, "Hey, it's gonna' be okay. We'll figure this out."

"I know," Amanda replied. "I'm just...you know...a little scared."

"I know you are," Lee said as he raised one hand to caress her face, "but you have to have a little faith that everything is going to work out. We _will_ figure this out and clear you name. I'm not gonna' let them put you away for something you didn't do."

"Thank you," Amanda said warmly with a shy smile, the warmth of his hand in hers and his other on her face not only comforting, but strangely alluring. It still confounded her that such a simple touch from him could stir so much in her. She didn't know what possessed her, but she raised her own hand to his on her face, brought it to her lips and kissed his palm.

Lee looked at her in surprise at the tenderness of that gesture and closed the gap between them, sliding his hand to the back of her neck and capturing her lips with his own, the comforting gesture now the furthest thing from his mind as her fervent response to him fueled the desire for her that he had been trying so hard to keep a lid on. The hand he had linked with hers soon found its way to her waist as his other tugged on the back of her head while he leaned against her to deepen their kiss, groaning at the sensations it created in him.

Amanda opened her mouth to Lee and slipped one hand around his neck as she felt his tongue probing her mouth, once again making her feel as if she were the only woman in the world, the burning desire she had for him only increasing as he moved closer to her. With her free hand, she began to tug at his tie to loosen it, needing to feel more of him. The fire Lee created in her burned out the memory of her lukewarm date with Bryce. How could she ever have thought that any other man could make her feel this way? She gasped as Lee's lips moved from her mouth to the tender pulse point on her neck. When he pulled back for a moment, the look in his eyes was one of questioning as if asking for permission to continue. She answered him by dropping his now-loosened tie to the floor and pushing his jacket from his shoulders before starting to work on the buttons of his shirt, planting soft, warm kisses to each patch of skin she exposed.

"Oh," Lee sighed at the warmth of Amanda's lips on his skin, her nimble fingers undressing him. How had he ever gotten by before meeting her? How could he ever have believed that his casual encounters of the past were enough to sustain him? "Amanda," he growled low as she roughly yanked his shirt from his pants. He unfastened the buttons at his sleeves to allow her to drop his shirt to the floor with his jacket and tie before she returned her hands to his bare chest. He then turned his attention to the buttons on her blouse, working them loose one by one. His eyes widened in surprised as he saw she wasn't wearing her normal bra beneath it, but instead wore a frilly satin and lace camisole. "I like this," he said in a low voice as he fingered one of the delicate straps.

"Yeah?" she said.

"Mm-hmm," he replied as he lowered his lips to her neck nipping at the tender pulse point there. "Very sexy," he murmured against her skin. He then raised his head, grinned at her and said, "Still not a sexy nightgown though. I swear one of these days I'm going to burn those cotton granny gowns you seem to favor."

"Don't you dare," she protested slapping at him playfully. "I _do_ have children in the house, remember?"

"Oh, is that why you wear those?"

"Yes," Amanda said. "I can't exactly run around the house in a negligee with two impressionable young boys in the house, now can I?"

"You never know," Lee countered with an impish grin. "They might learn something from the experience."

Amanda gave him a stern look and said, "There are some things I'd rather they not learn just yet."

"Like how incredibly sexy their mother is?" Lee suggested lowering his tone again as he slid his hands back to her waist. He lowered his lips to her neck again and whispered, "Or how this gets her very excited."

"Mmm," Amanda sighed as she felt Lee's lips on her skin, his hands tugging at her camisole. She raised her arms to allow him to remove it then reached for his belt while she toed off her shoes and he worked on the button of her pants. She raised herself from her perch on the arm of the couch to allow him to slide them and her panties down her legs.

Lee stood for a moment, gazed at her appreciatively and said in a hoarse whisper, "My God, you're beautiful.

Amanda flushed under his intense scrutiny and replied with a nod at his half-open pants, "And you're overdressed."

"I can take care of that," he said as he toed off his shoes and dropped his pants and underwear. He then fixed her with a steely gaze and said, "Better?"

"Much," Amanda answered we a smile as she stared at his nearly perfect nude form in front of her. She then resumed her earlier exploration of his body, trailing her hands from his shoulders, down his chest following her hands with her mouth trailing kisses down his torso.

"OH," Lee groaned as Amanda took one nipple between her teeth while she clasped his manhood with her hand. "God, you make me crazy." Amanda giggled at his comment, her excitement only building at his words. She worked her mouth downward until she felt Lee grasping her wrists and pushing her back to her original spot on the arm of the couch. "No, not this time," he said as he parted her legs and dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Lee," she hissed as Lee began to explore her with his mouth, nipping and licking at her most tender flesh. "Oh, Lee," she cried out at pleasure he was giving her. Just as she was about to reach her peak, he stopped rose to his feet, grasped her hips and pushed into her, causing her to cry out.

"Amanda," he growled at the feeling of being immersed in her again. He captured her lips in a searing kiss as he slid one hand between them to stroke her and began to move in and out of her.

"Ohhhh," Amanda moaned, gripping the back of the couch tightly as her climax overtook her.

"Yes, Amanda," Lee groaned against her relishing the feeling of her tightening around him. He increased the pace; desperately needing the release that he'd been craving since seeing her on a date. "Ohhhh," he growled as he emptied himself into her as they trembled in each other's arms. He kissed her again as the rode out the wave together. When he could breathe normally again, he pulled himself from her causing her to whimper slightly he said, "I'm sorry, Amanda." He turned from her and began to pull on his clothes as quickly as he could.

"What are you sorry for?" Amanda said her feelings now definitely hurt as she reached for her own discarded clothing. Was he already regretting their time together?

"I...um...I came here to search your house and I...um...I ended up just taking advantage of you. God, you must hate me."

"No, Lee, I don't hate you. I know that you were just doing what you were told to do." She reached for him, placing a hand on his shoulder to reassure him. "Besides that, you didn't hear me protesting, did you? If I didn't want this, I would have said so. I think you should know me well enough by now to know that."

"Yeah, I guess," Lee said. "Why did you come back anyway?"

"Oh my gosh! Mother!"Amanda exclaimed as the realization hit her. "She's at the grocery store waiting for me. I forgot my checkbook and I came back home to get it." Amanda quickly finished dressing. "I have to go." She reached for her purse where she'd dropped during Lee's questioning of her.

"Now, wait a minute. We need to figure this out. I'm going to need to come with me to explain all of this to Billy just like you did to me. You're gonna' be in a lot of trouble if you don't."

"I understand that, Lee, but I can't leave her hanging. She's waiting for me."

"Yeah, okay, I'll follow you to the store then and you can leave your car for your mother, but we have to get this resolved as quickly as possible. I...I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you because of this."

"All right," Amanda conceded feeling once again torn between her job and her family. How did things get so complicated?

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As they stood at the coffee station in the bullpen two days later, Lee beamed with pride at Amanda's willingness to go along with his plan and even pretending to be arrested before they'd dropped the net on Margaret Brock. She was turning out to be an invaluable asset to the agency, though he'd never tell her that. He couldn't help smiling as Mitch Larner apologized to her and even complimented her on her work. His smile soon faded when Amanda began asking about the fifty thousand in her bank account. _Uh-oh, _he thought.

As Mitch Larner and Lee both scurried off, Amanda couldn't help laughing at seeing the panicked looks on both of their faces. "Gotcha'" she said in amusement as she sipped at her coffee. One of these days they'd learn she was more than just a housewife, a lesson she was going to enjoy teaching them all, especially Lee.


	35. For Some Time Now

Author's Note: In the script, there is a humorous little scene at Lee's apartment in which the Colonel finds a bra mixed in with a pile of Lee's laundry and makes a comment about it. I am using that scene with a slight modification to fit this story because I just thought it was a great scene. Up to the "birds and bees" line, in the apartment scene with Lee and his uncle, I can't take credit for the dialogue. The rest is mine. On an additional note, this was yet another episode that was aired out of order as "A Little Sex..." was aired before it and it was the first one featuring Amanda's horrible short haircut while she still had her longer 'do in this one.

**Chapter 35-For Some Time Now**

"A Relative Situation"

Amanda shifted awkwardly, staring at the floor as she tried to hide the hurt she felt at hearing Lee talk about his date while on the phone.

Lee also shifted uncomfortably at his uncle's interrogation of him, "Is she new?" He questioned nervously, pangs of guilt washing over him both for lying to his uncle when he didn't actually have a girlfriend and at seeing the pained look on Amanda's face in front of him. "Uh...Well, actually we have been seeing each other for some time now," He hedged, still feeling a little guilty for lying to his uncle, but at least it was partially true. He and Amanda had been sort of seeing each other for over a year, even though neither would admit that there was more to their relationship that just fiery sex-capades. When he heard his uncle's next question, he immediately replied, "Amanda. Amanda King, Sir."

Amanda instantly perked up at hearing her name, smiling that Lee had referred to her as his girlfriend. She looked at him with a questioning gaze while his finished his phone conversation, which ended with him saying he could bring her along. She wondered just who he was talking to her that he'd just told was his girlfriend. She looked at him quizzically and cleared her throat.

Lee looked at Amanda, never feeling more awkward in his life and said hesitantly, "Uh...Amanda...I...uh...I need you to do a little favor for me."

"So, I gather," Amanda replied, amusement dancing in her eyes.

Lee gestured to the phone and said, "That was my uncle."

"Oh, the colonel," Amanda said excitedly, wondering if him referring to her as his girlfriend to the man she knew was his only living family meant that he was finally ready to admit that they were more than friends and partners. Lee stammered an awkward explanation and she replied, "Oh, Lee...Look, I'm...um...I'm flattered that you thought to ask me..." she couldn't help the giddy feeling that flooded through her at the idea that Lee wanted her as his date for his dinner with his uncle.

"Oh, good, I was desperate," Lee said with a smile and at seeing Amanda's face fall realized how that had sounded. _Oops, _he thought.

"Well, thank you so much," Amanda said acidly with a glare at him as the bitter disappointment swamped her soul. So much for him being ready to acknowledge that there was something between them.

"Oh, no, that's...uh...I didn't mean it that way," Lee said desperately trying to dig himself out of the hole that his thoughtless words had dug him into. "I mean...If you come along...It'll make things a lot easier." Amanda's calming presence at what he was sure would be a very tension-filled dinner would definitely make things easier.

"Yeah, sure," Amanda said, her smile returning at Lee's attempt at an apology.

"You'll do it?"Lee said elatedly.

"Sure, I'd love to meet your uncle," Amanda said, her smile widening. For Lee, meeting his uncle was the equivalent of meeting the parents since the colonel had raised him.

Lee breathed a sigh of relief, smiled warmly and her and said, "Good." They smiled at each other for a moment, before Lee said, "So, I'm sure that you heard dinner's at eight. I'll pick you up at your place at seven, if that's okay."

"Um...I don't know," Amanda replied. "That's an awful lot of pointless driving for you, going all the way to Arlington, then driving all the way back to DC, then at the end of the night, having to drive all the way back to Arlington to take me home again and then you'd have to drive back again to go home." She was babbling and she knew it, but until she was sure that they were going somewhere real, she didn't really want to have him pick her up at the house, knowing that her mother would insist on meeting him and would grill him endlessly, then when the date was over would grill her about it. She knew that the second that she introduced him to her mother, she'd be all over it, since she already knew his first name. After all, how many men named Lee could she possibly know? Then there was the fact that she couldn't seem to keep her emotions in check around him. She knew it would be written all over her face that he was the one. She thought it was better to spare both of them the torture. "How about I meet you at your place at seven instead?"

"Um...sure...that'll work too, I guess," Lee said feeling a little disappointed. He kind of liked the idea of ringing the doorbell and taking her out on a proper date, instead of their clandestine meetings in the back yard. What she said made some sense though. "So, I...uh...I better let you get to your baseball practice. So...I...I guess I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah," Amanda said with a shy smile, "Seeya' tonight."

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Amanda had just finished dressing for the evening and was fastening her necklace when she heard a tap at her door and her mother's voice on the other side calling her name. "Come in, Mother," she said steeling herself for the interrogation she knew was coming.

"You look lovely, Dear," Dotty said as she entered the room as she looked her daughter up and down, "But don't you think that outfit's a little tame for a date?" as she took in the modest sweater and calf-length skirt Amanda wore.

"What's wrong with it?" Amanda said. She thought she looked nice and she didn't want to wear something to racy that might made a bad first impression with Lee's only family.

"Oh, I don't know. It's just...what's the word," Dotty said fixing her daughter with a steely gaze, "...boring."

"Well, Mother, boring is exactly what's called for tonight," Amanda said.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why?"

"What I mean is that you're never going to capture a man's attention if you don't let yourself loosen up a little. I mean, I don't get what the big deal is. You've let yourself loosen up around Lee plenty of other times before," Dotty said.

"Well, I'm meeting his uncle for the first time tonight and I want to make a good first impression. I don't want him thinking that I'm just some...some...trollop."

"A-HA!" Dotty said triumphantly. "I knew it1 I knew you were going out with Lee tonight! I knew that's why you said you were meeting your date somewhere instead of him picking you up here!"

"Ooh," Amanda groaned as she realized she'd walked right into her mother's trap. The idea of skipping the inquisition, which had been the whole reason behind her wanting to meet Lee instead of him, picking her up, was not shot to hell.

"So, you're meeting his uncle tonight? You know, that sounds very promising. Didn't you tell me not to long ago that he was raised by his uncle? Why, that's as good as him asking you to meet his parents."

"Oh, Mother, please don't make more of this than there is," Amanda said as she stepped into her heels. Even thought she'd thought the exact same thing herself when Lee had asked her, she wasn't about to let her mother know that. It would only encourage her to bring lee around to the house, invite him to dinner... "He just wants me along as a buffer because he and his uncle don't get along very well."

"Oh, well, of course. That is something that you are very good at. You're always the calm at the center of the storm, but let me ask you something."

"What's that, Mother," Amanda said as she made her way out of her room and toward the stairs, her mother hot on her heels.

"What has he told his uncle about you?"

"What do you mean," Amanda said evasively as she reached the foyer and reached for her coat.

"Well, this uncle, he must be curious as to why you're coming along to this dinner. Does he think you're Lee's girlfriend, maybe his...fiancée?" Dotty questioned hopefully.

"Oh, Mother, you're really jumping the gun here. It's just a dinner, that's all," Amanda said, then called into the living room, "Fellas, I'm leaving! Come give me a kiss goodnight." When both boys barreled into the foyer, she knelt enough to hug and kiss them both and said, "Now, you boys be good for your grandma while I'm gone, okay?" She then stood, turned to her mother and said, "Don't let them stay up too late."

"Aw, Mom," Phillip groaned. "It's not a school night or anything."

"No, but you still have weekend homework to do and you've got the circus trip tomorrow," Amanda said. "So, bed by ten, okay?"

"Okay, okay," Phillip grumbled as he trudged back into the living room.

"Have fun tonight, Mom," Jamie said just before he followed his brother.

"Yes, Darling, have fun," Dotty said with a kiss to her daughter's cheek.

"I will, Mother," Amanda replied as she swept out the door.

"Just not too much fun," Dotty added to herself after the door was closed. She sighed with a shake of her head as she made her way to the living room to join her grandsons, wondering if her daughter would ever admit that the relationship she was in was more serious than she let on and why she was so reluctant to admit that it_ was_ a relationship.

Lee stood in his living room and fiddled nervously with his tie for about the twelfth time as he waited for Amanda to arrive. "Where is she?" He groused as he glanced as his watch. The closer it got to his dinner with the colonel, the more agitated he became. He really wanted a good stiff drink, but he could just see how his uncle would react if he showed up with the smell of whiskey on his breath. He sighed, wondering again why Amanda hadn't arrived yet as he tried to calm himself. After all, it was only five to seven. He just hoped that she hadn't changed her mind. No, he told himself. If she had, she'd have called. She was responsible and she'd never leave him hanging without an explanation. He began pacing furiously as he waited, desperately wishing that he hadn't agreed to let her meet him at his place and instead, insisted that he pick her up so he could have some semblance of control over the evening. When he heard a knock at the door, he halted abruptly in his pacing, reached for the small wrapped package he'd laid on his coffee table earlier in the day and hurried to his front door. He opened it and at seeing Amanda on the other side of it, smiled warmly and said, "Hi," as he let her in.

"Hello," Amanda said in a timid voice.

Lee gazed at her curiously wondering if it were possible that she was just as nervous as he was. "Come on it," He said as he closed the door behind her. He took in her appearance immensely grateful that she'd worn something conservative. The last thing he needed was for his uncle to start harping on his taste in women again. "You look nice," He said with a smile.

"Thank you," Amanda said smiling back at him.

"Oh, here," He said as he handed her the package. "I have something for you."

"Oh?" Amanda said as she took it from him, her heart leaping. Did he think of this as a real date? She started to make her way to the couch, only to find it was buried.

"Oh...uh...sorry about the mess," Lee said apologetically. "Let me move that stuff for you." He made his way to the couch.

"No, it's okay. I can stand," she said. "It's not as if we're going to be here that long since we have to meet your uncle soon."

"Right," Lee said and shoved his hands in his pocket awkwardly. "I...uh...it's been so crazy these last couple of weeks that I haven't had time to really straighten up the place, you know?"

"Yeah, I know," she said. She could definitely tell that it had been at least two weeks as she spotted the white tuxedo he'd word during their "wedding" amid the jumble of clothing on his couch. She forced herself to tear her eyes away from it as she ripped into the wrapping on the package in her hands. She chuckled a little as she saw what was inside. "Les Trois Nuits," she said with a smile.

"I told you I'd replace your perfume and you know Francine, she's always up on what's fashionable."

Amanda chuckled again and said, "Yes, she is. Me, I'm sometimes just lucky if I have enough time to put on make-up in the morning with the boys running me ragged." She glanced down at the perfume in her hand and said, "You know, Lee, you really didn't have to do this. This is a much more expensive perfume that the one that got dumped."

"No, I know I didn't have to, but I wanted to...I wanted to you know, make it up to you and to say thank you for agreeing to be my date tonight," Lee said.

"Your date?" she questioned. "Is...Uh...that what this is? A date?"

"Um...well, you...uh...you know what I mean, for my uncle's benefit."

"Right," Amanda said with a nod as she shoved the perfume in her purse as an excuse to look away from him to hide her disappointment.

Lee sighed as he realized he'd blown it with her again. He reached out, cupped her chin in his hand to get her to look at him again, and said, "I'm sorry. I...I didn't mean it the way it sounded. I...I'm really glad you agreed to come tonight."

"Yeah?" Amanda said hopefully.

"Yeah," Lee said as he moved his hand to the back of her neck. "I...uh...I've really come to enjoy spending time with you."

"Yeah, I have too...with you, I mean," she said. They locked eyes for a moment, then the next moment, they were in each other's arms, kissing furiously, grasping at each other's clothing, Amanda's purse and coast soon were dropped to the floor as they tumbled to the laundry-covered couch together, Lee's hands soon working their way under her skirt while hers worked at his belt to free him. "Oh!" she cried out as Lee touched her, stroking her expertly, bringing to life the deep desire she had for him. She tugged at his tie, tossed it aside, and then began working on the buttons of his dress shirt while Lee moved one hand up her back under her sweater to unclasp her bra. She stopped for a moment to pull her sweater over her head, wanting to feel her bare skin against his.

Lee wasted no time in sliding her bra down her arms, shoving it aside, not caring where it ended up, then lowered his lips to capture one breast with his mouth, the other with his hand as Amanda rocked against his other. Her cries of pleasure told him she was close, so he increased the pressure, needing to hear her crying out his name. He was not disappointed as he felt her reaching her peak, shuddering against him, and sputtering out his name. "Amanda," He whispered hoarsely. "I...I need..." his voice trailed off.

"I know," she replied in a raspy voice as she worked quickly to finish the job she'd started on his pants to free him from their constraints. She then fully straddled his lap and guided him into her.

"Oh, Amanda," He groaned at the feeling of being immersed in her warmth. "Oh, God," he growled as she began to ride him hard and fast. He was amazed that she always seemed to know just what he needed.

"Lee," she whispered in his ear as she bent her head to nip at his neck, relishing the feeling of having him inside her and knowing that he needed her even if he wouldn't dare to say the words aloud.

"I can't hold on," Lee growled as he felt the pressure building.

"Don't try," Amanda murmured against his skin as she pushed down against him again and again until she heard him shouting out her name and felt him letting go and erupting within her. "Oh," she cried as continued to buck against him riding out the wave as she felt another intense wave of pleasure taking her over. "Oh, Lee," she said softly as she collapsed against him and tried to regain her breath.

"Thank you," Lee said as he kissed her softly. It sounded so inadequate to say that, but he knew that she would get his meaning. This was just wanted he had needed to relax before facing the firing squad led by his stern uncle and so much better than the stiff drink he'd been craving.

Amanda giggled slightly at his words, leaned her head against his and answered, "Thank _you_." No further words were needed between them as they grasped each other's meaning perfectly. They sat there together for a moment in a comfortable silence while they came down from the mutual high, until Amanda said, "We...uh...we really should get going. I'm sure you wouldn't want to keep your uncle waiting."

"Well, I did tell him that you were very jealous of our time together," he teased. "I could always use that as an excuse for us standing him up."

Amanda pulled herself from his lap abruptly, straightened her skirt and her underwear and said, "Oh no, you don't, Buster. You're not using me as an excuse to skip out on your uncle. You promised him that we were going to have dinner with him and I'm going to insist that you keep that promise." She reached for her discarded sweater.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Lee grumbled as he began to right his own clothing.

"Uh...Lee..."Amanda said worriedly.

"Yeah?" he replied as he retrieved his tie from the floor behind the couch where Amanda had tossed it.

"Um...What did you do with my bra?"

"I...uh...to be honest, I don't know," Lee admitted sheepishly. "I...uh...I was kind of lost in the moment."

"Well, we need to find it," she said. "I can't go meeting your uncle braless."

"Amanda, relax," Lee said. "It wouldn't be the first time I've seen out in public, braless, like when you were wearing that little off-the-shoulder number."

"Okay, yes, but that was different. What's your uncle going to think of me if I show up at the officer's club that way?"

"Look, he'll be so busy judging me that I doubt he'd even notice and even if he didn't, it would hardly be the worst thing he's ever seen in a woman that I've dated."

"Oh?"Amanda said a flare of jealousy rising.

"Oh, come on, Amanda. You've seen some of the ladies that I've dated," Lee said as he finished with his tie.

Amanda snorted and said, "I wouldn't exactly call them ladies."

"You know what I mean," Lee said. "Look, he'll love you. I guarantee it. You're...different...special."

"Special?"She queried.

"Look, can you just put your sweeter on so we can go. We can find your bra another time, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Amanda said realizing that he wasn't going to answer her yet again. It always happened this way. Every single time she thought they were getting closer, that he was on the verge of opening up to her, he backpedaled furiously.

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Later that night, Lee and his uncle entered his apartment. Robert Clayton handed Lee his coat and while Lee hung it up, he looked around and said, "Nice place, Skip."

"Thanks," Lee said. "Most of the stuff, I picked up during my travels."

His uncle admired a vase sitting on a shelf and said, "Beautiful things. Not like the barracks life you used to know, huh?"

"I guess I outgrew that," Lee said.

The colonel then approached the couch, gestured to the pile of laundry still sitting on it and said, "Some things don't change, I see. Still can't hang up your clothes, can you?"

Lee sighed, hurried to the couch and began to gather up the clothes there, saying, "I wasn't expecting company. I put these things here so I wouldn't forget to take them to the cleaners."

"You don't need to apologize," Robert said.

"I wasn't apologizing, I was just explaining," Lee said defensively as he began to gather up his clothes quicker than before and had a moment of panic at spotting Amanda's missing bra and cringed at he realized the Colonel had seen it too. With his arms full, he wasn't able to grab it before his uncle did.

The colonel held up the satin and lace bra with one finger and said, "I gather more than just your taste in furniture has changed."

Color spread across Lee's face as he snatched Amanda's bra from his uncle and stammered, "That...that...uh got there by mistake."

The colonel smiled and said, "But it wasn't taken off by mistake." Lee turned from his uncle with his armload and shoved the whole pile into the closet while Robert continued, "You always did have a way with the ladies, even when you were a teenager and still living with me."

Lee turned, walked toward the bar; definitely needing that drink now and said, "Look, I can explain that."

His uncle joined him at the bar and said, "Calm down, Skip. I'm not going to lecture you. Besides I think I'd be a little late with my "birds and bees" talk," as he poured himself a glass of scotch, "Especially in light of the fact that you're dating a single mother. I assume that...um...item...is hers?"

"Yes, it's hers," Lee said with a sigh.

"Hmm," Robert said thoughtfully as he took a sip of his drink.

"What's that "hmm" mean?"

"I guess I'm just surprised that being a single mother, she'd be so quick to give in to your...charms. She didn't strike me as your normal type of girlfriend."

"She's not. Amanda's...she's...well, she's special," Lee said.

Robert smiled again and said, "My God, you've actually fallen in love. I never thought I'd live to see the day."

"No," Lee denied, but at seeing his uncle's unwavering stern gaze, he recanted and said, "Okay, yes, but when you go over to her place tomorrow, don't you dare say a word to her. I...I haven't told her how I feel about her and I-"

"Why the hell not?" his uncle interrupted. "If you love the woman, you should tell her so."

"It's complicated, okay? She and I are from two different worlds. She's Cub Scout jamborees and home-baked cookies while I'm more cocktail parties and champagne. Plus, she's got kids, kids I've never even met face to face and..."

"Oh, I see what this is about. You're afraid to get really serious about her because of the responsibility of taking on two kids too."

"No, that's not it. Me being around her kids with what I do for a living could put them in danger and she loves those boys so much, I'd die if anything happened to them because of me."

"Well, aren't you the one who is always telling me how skilled you are at the job? What makes you think that you couldn't protect them? Aside from that, who's to say that just the fact that she works with you wouldn't put them at risk anyway?" When Lee was silent, Robert downed the last of his drink and said, "Look, Son, you're going to have to make a decision. You either man up and make a real commitment to Amanda or let her go. Either way, stop stringing her along. Like you said, she's special and she deserves better." He slammed his glass down and said, "Where's your bathroom?"

"That way," Lee said pointing to his bedroom as he pondered his uncle's words. He had to admit that he was right. This had gone on far too long and he needed to put a stop to it once and for all.


	36. Icing on the Cake

**Chapter 36-Icing on the Cake**

"A Little Sex, A Little Scandal"

Amanda surveyed her new shorter haircut in the mirror and cringed slightly. What had she been thinking? She sighed. She knew exactly what she'd been thinking. Lee Stetson in a big one-track way. It had been right after his uncle had left town again. Lee had come creeping into her back yard as usual, seemingly on a mission, by the look on his face and not the work-related kind. They hadn't said a word to each other, had just fallen into each other's arms, once again making love in her back yard with her on top. Amanda shuddered at the memory of it. Afterward, he'd looked at her in such a way she'd been sure that he was about to open up and tell her how he felt. He cupped her face lovingly, run his fingers through her hair said, "Amanda, I love..." he had paused then obviously chickened out and finished with, "...Your long, dark hair." So irritated with his cowardice, she'd yanked herself out of his arms and stormed into the house in a huff, hearing him calling after her, "What the hell is wrong with you?" as if it weren't obvious. The new 'do had come the next day and she was already regretting it. She recalled vividly the thoughts that had run through her mind when getting it done; _He can't say he loves me, but that he loves my hair. We'll see what he thinks without the long hair. _She sighed again and forced herself to stop staring in the mirror. She had a lot to do today.

That evening after her ordeal with being run off the road, the dead man and the arrogant Detective Tuggy not believing her, she went to the one place she thought she could find someone to believe her, someone she trusted to help her only to be stunned at Lee's greeting when he opened the door. He'd obviously been expecting someone else, a woman named Randi. She wasn't about to let that deter her from her mission though. She took a deep breath and launched into her tale, the parent-teacher night, the murder, the maroon hatchback, all of it. She got a small sense of satisfaction at Lee's eyes widening in concern at hearing that they'd chased her. At least he still cared about her safety. That was something, but then she couldn't help noticing that he kept glancing at his watch.

"I'm sorry...I...thank you very much. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude," Amanda said, though she felt more like this other woman, whoever she was, was the intruder. Since she'd been in his apartment, she couldn't help noticing how neat the place looked compared to when they'd made love just a week ago amid a pile of his clothing waiting to be taken to the dry cleaners. In fact, the place looked spic and span as if he'd tidied it up for his date, something that he hadn't done for her when she'd agreed to be his date for his dinner with his uncle. She didn't know whether she should feel insulted that he'd cleaned the place for this other woman, not for her, or flattered that he felt comfortable enough with her that it didn't bother him if she saw his place a shambles.

"Now, hold it," Lee said. "You didn't intrude." The truth was that he'd been thinking of her just a moment ago when digging the ice bucket currently in her arms out of his closet and found her tattered panties inside from their wild encounter on his dining room table. He shifted awkwardly as the memories of that night assailed his thoughts and glanced at his watch again, "I...um...I'm just waiting for..."

"Randi, baby," Amanda interjected, burning with curiosity about who this woman was to him that he was calling her "baby." He'd never called her that, although to be fair he'd called her sweetheart that night in the bowling alley when it wasn't part of a cover assignment. She wondered if this date was his retaliation for her cutting her hair. She knew he'd been bothered by it as the first time he'd seen it he asked her bluntly what the hell she'd done.

"Yes," Lee answered as he tried to shake off the nagging memories of his passion-filled nights with the woman in front of him. He was still irked by the fact that right after he'd told her how much he loved her long hair; she'd gone and hacked it off. Didn't she get that he'd been trying to confess his feelings for her? His uncle had told him to either get serious about her or let her go and he'd been trying, albeit awkwardly to do just that, for once believing that the colonel had given him some good advice.

"Oh, well, is...um...Randi, a person that you'd like to impress?"

Lee nodded awkwardly and said, "Yeah, possibly." To be honest, he wasn't sure. Randi was beautiful, sure, but did he really want to impress her? No, the only woman he cared about impressing was the one standing in his living room now, but she'd made it clear that she couldn't be more unimpressed with him. Dating Randi had been a different type of following his uncle's advice when he couldn't get through to Amanda, he'd decided to try to move on, but still couldn't shake the intense feelings he had for her.

"Well, then you should probably take the price tag off this bottle of champagne," she said glancing down at it with a look of disdain. She couldn't resist adding another little dig, knowing that he'd done all this for another woman. "It was a bargain," she said as she thrust the bucket at him.

"Oh, good catch," Lee said as he glanced down at it.

"Anytime," she said her voice dripping with sarcasm as she hurried to the door wanting to escape before his date arrived. _Too late, _she thought as she opened the door to find herself face to face with the bimbette in question. She should have known that she'd be blond and leggy. "Oh, hello, Randi," she said with a sneering smile on her face and felt the need to also get in a little dig at the woman whom Lee had gone to so much trouble for. "You'll like the wine," she said with a quick backward glance at Lee before adding, "It's very good," then pushed past her into the hall.

As she left, she heard Lee, saying with fake enthusiasm, "Randi, come in, come in," When she noticed that the door hadn't immediately been closed, she couldn't help pausing in the hall to see how she'd react and how Lee would handle it.

She smiled in smug satisfaction when she heard the blond tart say, "What is this, a rotation system? Am I the evening edition?" _Gotcha' _Amanda thought.

Lee stammered awkwardly, "No, she was just..."

"Let me guess, you're just friends," Randi said in a pouty tone.

"Yes, yes," Lee said feeling his confidence fading at the stern look his date was giving him. "Oh, you look gorgeous tonight. You really do," He said hoping to dig himself out of the hole that he was in.

Amanda cringed a little at the just friends bit, and hearing what was obviously the sound of kissing, but then had to smile again when she heard Lee's date say, "And you're on thin ice." _Good, _Amanda thought with a firm nod as she finally headed down the hall to leave once Lee had closed the door.

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Once the case had been closed and Lee had protected her from yet another attack on her life, Amanda had wanted to show him her appreciation, but found herself once again standing awkwardly at Lee's front door as he waited for Randi to arrive.

Lee glanced at his watch and said, "Uh...Amanda...what are you doing here?'

"Oh, I'm sorry," Amanda replied. "I guess it isn't a very good time, is it?" though she couldn't help smiling inwardly that she may have thwarted another attempt of Lee's to get closer to the other woman.

"Uh..." Lee said.

"I'm sorry," she said again, though truthfully she really wasn't. She'd chosen that particular time of night to show up at his place in an attempt to remind him where his heart really belonged.

"No, no...Uh...the time is fine..." Lee stammered. "What's that?" he said with a nod to the cake plate in her hands.

"Oh...uh..." she said as she whipped the dishtowel she had covering it off to show him."It's...uh...it's just a little cake that whipped up for the mother of the year contest." She couldn't help smiling at the smile that crossed Lee's face upon seeing it. "I thought that I would give it to you as sor of my way of saying thank you for being the only one who believed me." That much was true, but she also wanted to bluntly remind him of the last time they'd share cake in his apartment and how it had led to them making love, not once, but twice in his dining room.

They conversed about the case and the mother of the year contest, and just as Amanda was about to leave, she ran headlong into Randi who was just arriving. At seeing Amanda there and her once again greeting her as if she knew her, the angered blond said, "That's it!" and stormed off.

Lee made a half-hearted attempt to explain, but gave up when Randi kept walking.

"Oh, gosh, I'm really sorry," Amanda said. "And you have your candles and your...Well, she misunderstood," though she knew deep down that the other woman hadn't misunderstood a thing.

"Yeah, yeah, I guess so," Lee said knowing that there was no misunderstanding. He knew that every time he was with Amanda, no matter how hard he tried to fight it, to hide it, his feelings for her were visible on his face. He glanced down at the cake in his hands, smiled his dimpled smile at her and said, "You want some cake?" making his true meaning perfectly clear.

Amanda chuckled at the look on his face and knew without a doubt in that look that his dates with Randi had been just that, dates and nothing more. "Sure," Amanda said as Lee ushered her into his apartment and closed the door behind them.

Lee set the cake down and said, "Just let me get a knife to cut this with."

"Forget the knife," Amanda said as she stripped off her coat, dropping it and her purse to his couch. When Lee turned to look at her, she closed the gap between them and planted a firm kiss to his lips and pushed him backward toward the couch to remind him of their encounter of the week before.

"It's forgotten," Lee said as he felt himself being propelled backward landing on his sofa and her taking advantage of it to settle herself astride him. "Amanda," he groaned as he felt her hands sliding inside his partially open shirt caressing the bare skin beneath. She worked the remaining buttons of his shirt loose, yanked it from his pants and pushed both it and his jacket down his shoulders, but was halted by the cuffs of his shirt.

"Let me," Lee said as he quickly undid the two buttons completing the job that she'd started. He then tugged at the bottom of her sweater and pulled it over her head, and then began working on the buttons of her blouse, quickly exposing the lacy bra beneath it. He gazed at her for just a moment, his eyes drinking in the sight of her partially bare body in front of him and then quickly unhooked her bra, sliding it down her arms before capturing one breast in his mouth and the other in his hand while his other hand found its way under her skirt.

"Lee," Amanda hissed at his touch, throwing her head back and cradling his head against her.

Lee raised his head to look at her for a moment searching her eyes to be sure this was what she really wanted. He knew by her reaction to him dating Randi that he'd hurt her. "Amanda..."

Amanda placed a finger to his lips to silence him and said, "Don't, Lee. Just touch me."

"No," Lee said firmly. At seeing a pained expression cross her face, sputtered, "I...I mean, not yet. I need you to know that Randi..."

"I get it, Lee. You don't have to-"

"Yes, I do. I don't think you _do _get it," he interrupted. "Randi didn't misunderstand a damn thing. I...uh...I just thought you should know that." When Amanda smiled at him, He slid his hands to her waist and lowered her to the floor, resuming his exploration of her lithe body with his mouth and his hands.

Amanda sighed at Lee's touch on her skin, the flickering of the candles sending sparks of light across his exposed torso above him. The idea that she was partaking in a romantic evening that he'd set up for another woman should have been abhorrent to her, but instead if filled her with a sense of exhilaration that she'd ruined his chances with her, not once, but twice. That fact that she was the one in his arms now with her with a heady sense of satisfaction that she knew would only increase as he made love to her, all thoughts of the other woman forced out of his mind by her presence. She pushed on his chest to encourage him to roll over onto his back and once he complied, she began trailing warm, wet kisses across his torso, while she felt his hands at the zipper of her skirt, sliding it down, then moving his hands back up to caress her back. That didn't last for very long though as she soon worked her way down to his stomach, pausing for just a moment to work his belt loose, then moved on to free him from his slacks, taking all of him that she could into her mouth.

"Oh, God," Lee cried out as Amanda suckled him greedily as if she wanted to devour him whole. He'd been tickled when he saw that she'd brought him a cake, but who needed a cake when being with her was the icing on the cake? "OH!" he cried as she pulled back just enough to flick her tongue against the tip of him before taking him fully into her mouth again. His hands unconsciously flew to her head and he found himself startled that he could no longer run his fingers through her hair the way that he used to. He knew that she'd cut her hair just to spite him, but it didn't matter anymore. She was here with him now and despite that fact that he'd basically rubbed his date with another woman in his face, here she was, doing things to him that he knew the mother of the year committee would have been horrified by. If those prudes couldn't handle her hectic life, they'd definitely have a problem with this. He soon felt himself nearing the edge and moved to stop her, wanting desperately to be inside her when that happened, but she slapped at his hands and relentlessly continued until he felt himself exploding into her mouth, his hands clenching in what was left of her hair as he cried out her name. Through his ragged breathing, heard Amanda let out a sigh of contentment just before she released him with a loud pop. She then gazed at him with a Cheshire-cat-like grin. "What?" he gasped out still trying to catch his breath.

"Nothing," she said with a shake of her head, but still smiled smugly at him.

"I don't like the way you're looking at me," Lee said as his breathing began to slow.

"Why? You enjoyed yourself, didn't you?"

"Very much," He said in a hoarse whisper. _Too much, _he thought as he wondered how Arlington's mother of the year candidate could set him on fire and make him lose his mind the way no other woman could.

"Then what are you complaining about," Amanda said as she pulled herself from him and rose to her feet reaching for the champagne bottle that sat on his coffee table and plucking if from the ice bucket. She glanced at it and said with an amused expression, "No bargain champagne this time?" she said as she popped the cork and poured two glasses.

"Oh, shut up," Lee said with a chuckle as he pulled himself to his feet, straightening his pants as he accepted the glass Amanda offered him.

Amada laughed in return and said, "So, what should we drink to?"

Lee shook his head, utterly amazed by her. There she was, standing before him in just her panties and her heels after just giving him the most mind-blowing orgasm of his life and she was asking what they should drink to?

"How about your new haircut," Lee said pointedly.

"I thought you hated it," Amanda said. She knew _she_ hated it and wished that she hadn't let a moment of blind fury make her do something that she now regretted.

"I don't know," Lee said as he reached for her with his free hand, twirling one of the tight curls around his finger. "It's kind of cute. I think it's starting to grow on me." He cringed as he realized that he'd unintentionally made a bad pun out of his comment, but the truth was, he still wasn't too fond of her shorter 'do. It was Amanda that had started to grow on him and long before tonight.

"Grow on you?" Amanda questioned with a chuckle. "Oh, Lee, that's really bad."

Lee couldn't help but laugh. He'd already known that she'd jump on his choice of words. "No pun intended," he said sheepishly as he sipped as this champagne.

"Uh-huh," she said in a disbelieving tone.

"So, how about this cake, huh?"

"Yeah, sounds good," she said.

"Be right back," Lee said setting down his glass for a moment then hustling to the kitchen. He quickly returned with a knife for the cake to find that Amanda was now sitting with her legs tucked under the coffee table, her heels now kicked under, her back propped against his couch and that she had removed the glass cover from her home-baked cake. "Here we go," he said. "You know, I really oughtta' do something with that one," he said gesturing to the sad-looking half-frozen concoction looking forlorn next to her nearly-award-winning one. The bigger difference he know though, wasn't that it was homemade versus store-bought. It was that she poured just as much TLC into her baking as she did everything else in her life. She loved life, loved her children, loved her mother, and deep down he knew she loved him, so why was it so hard for him to tell her that he loved her? He knew why. He knew that the day that he said the words, being the loving person that she was, she'd immediately say them back and as much as he longed to hear those words from her, that would open up a whole new set of concerns. It would mean they were committed, that he'd have to face the real possibility of attaching himself to someone else and potentially losing her, a thought that was more terrifying to him than all the horrors he faced on the job.

"File thirteen," Amanda suggested with a soft chuckle as she looked at the frozen cake disdainfully. Never in her life would she have thought of serving something like that to a guest in her home.

"Good plan. Yours is _much_ more appealing," Lee said with a pointed look at her to tell her that he wasn't just talking about the cake, wanting her to know that Randi hadn't meant anything to him as kicked off his shoes then knelt next to her and cut into the cake she'd brought. "Oh, you know what, I didn't bring any plates."

"We don't need them," Amanda said as she took the knife from him, cut off a small piece of the cake and held it out to him, not caring that she'd get covered in chocolate.

Lee's eyes lit up at the suggestive look in her eyes and leaned in to take a bite of the offered cake. "Mmm," he said. "Very good."

"You like it," Amanda said.

"Mm-hmm," he said as he swallowed the mouthful of cake and then reached for her hand. "In fact, I think I need another taste," he said pulling her fingers into his mouth and sucking the chocolate from them causing her to squeal in delight a shiver ran up her spine.

"You know, I think I need to try I myself," Amanda said in a seductive tone as she leaned in toward him. "You've got a little right here," she added as she kissed him softly, nipping at his lips as she licked the chocolate from them.

"Mmm," Lee moaned against her lips as he clasped the back of her head, deepening the kiss. They kissed for a long moment before both were too breathless to continue.

They pulled apart to catch their breath, staring at one another and then after a moment, Amanda said, "If you really like my cake that much, you should have some more," as she reached for more.

"I think you're right," Lee said, his eyes dancing as he knew they were both talking about more than the cake.

"Good," Amanda said. This time, however, she didn't feed it to him. Instead, she took the cake, running it from her neck and down to the valley between her breasts all the way to her navel.

Lee's eyes widened as he watched her. The more he got to know her, the more he found how much she was still a mystery to him. He'd never have imagined in a million years that Amanda would be up for playing with food, but if that was what she wanted, he would be happy to join her. He pushed the coffee table away from them, lowered her to the floor, and nipped at her neck, lapping up the chocolate frosting. "Sweet," he murmured against her skin as he worked his way downward, the sweetness of the frosting mingling with the saltiness of her skin, delighting in her soft sighs and whimpers until there was no trace of the chocolate left on her. He then pulled her fingers back into his mouth, licking them clean as well.

"Still like it?" she teased as his touch sent amazing sensations through her whole body.

"Oh, yes," Lee answered as he reached for the champagne bottle, "But now I think I need something to wash it down with."

This time it was Amanda's eyes widening as Lee, without waiting for a response, he tipped the champagne bottle, dribbling drops of it down her body. Amanda squealed as the cool liquid hit her skin, the bubbles making hear already tingling body, tingle even more. He then proceeded to lap up every drop, nipping, licking, and slurping at the bubbly, working his way down her body until he reached her navel, dipping his tongue into it to capture to drips of champagne that had pooled their. "Lee," Amanda sighed as she arched up against him. Lee raised his head for a moment, and then slid his hands under her bottom to raise her up enough to drag her panties down her long legs before tilting the bottle once more pouring more of the sparkling liquid over her thighs, her hips and between, before setting it aside again, then beginning anew at drinking it from her body, starting which each hip, before running his tongue down to first one thigh, and then the other, nipping at the tender skin of each of them while he delighted in Amanda whimpering beneath him. "Lee, please," she hissed.

Lee, in answer to her pleading, lifted her up onto the couch, her bottom on the edge of the seat, and parted her legs, planting one more soft kiss to each thigh, before delving into her with his tongue, alternating between dipping his tongue inside her and suckling her swollen nub with his lips. "Lee," she hissed again at his merciless teasing of her and cried out when he took her fully into his mouth, clamping down as he stroked her with his tongue causing her to cry out louder than before, "Lee!' as he body shook with the tremors of her release. Before she knew what was happening, she heard the rasp of a zipper and felt herself being pulled from her perch to straddle him and soon felt him filling her completely.

"Amanda," Lee groaned at the pleasure he felt at being immersed in her warmth again as she instinctively began to push against him to deepen their connection. How could he have ever thought that another woman could bring her the sense of completeness that she did? He grasped her hips pulling her down to meet him as he thrust up into her, delighted in feeling her sticky fingers gripping his shoulders, her legs locking behind his hips as they moved together toward the completion that they both craved. "Ohhhh," he groaned at feeling her tightening around him and calling his name as her second climax of the night hit her full force driving him to his own as he emptied himself within her, leaving them both shaking and gasping, trembling against one another and holding onto each other for dear life. When it was over, they just held each other silently while they bodies cooled down and when Lee felt he was cool enough to speak again, "You know, that cake should have won."

Amanda chuckled and said, "Oh, well, at least someone thinks it's a winner," as she kissed him lightly and attempted to pull herself from his arms, but Lee held her fast.

"No, don't," he pleaded. "Stay with me tonight."

"Lee, I can't. You know that I can't. I have children at home."

"Call home and tell your mother you have to pull an all-nighter in the editing room or something."

"I can't. Besides, she wouldn't believe me anyway. She stopped believing that story as soon as she knew about you."

"Then tell her the truth. That you'll be spending the night making love with me."

"And be subjected to the Spanish inquisition when I get home?" Amanda shook her head and said, "No, thank you. Look, I would love to stay. I really would, but I can't. The boys have school in the morning and I need to be there to fix their lunches, make sure they ear breakfast before they go, make sure their homework's done."

"I get it," Lee said as he released her.

"Besides, we'll have other nights together," Amanda said as she reached for her panties, then cringes as she realized how that sounded. That was good as saying come and get it any time you want. "I mean...I...at least, I hope we will."

"Count on it," Lee said as he straightened his pants again and watched her dress.

"Yeah," Amanda said as she quickly dressed, reached for her coat and purse, planted a quick kiss to Lee's lips and began to walk toward the door, but was halted by Lee's voice saying her name. "Yes?" she said.

"You don't need the mother of the year award to be a good mother," Lee said with a smile. It had just struck him in her words tonight in her protests about spending the night that it wasn't because she didn't want to be with him, but that she was putting aside her own needs for the sake of her children.

Amanda beamed at him and said, "Thank you," deeply touched by his words.


	37. We Never Have Any Fun

**Chapter 37-We Never Have Any Fun**

"Life of the Party"

Amanda smiled in amusement as the blonde intentionally brushed against Lee in passing just before a server appeared with a tray of Hors D'oeurves at which her partner turned up his nose, despite her encouragement. She sipped at her champagne just as the blonde reappeared to make another attempt at capturing Lee's attention, this time wedging herself between them.

"Hi," the blonde purred.

"Hi," Lee said in response.

"Don't I know you?" The woman said as Amanda rolled her eyes. _Could she be more obvious? _

"No, I don't think so," Lee said politely, but really wanted nothing more than for her to go away and she had obviously not gotten the hint that he wasn't interested when he'd ignored her earlier pass at him.

"Well, I'm Betsy Jordan," she replied. "Buy me a drink?"

Lee shifted uncomfortably at her blatantness. There was a time when he'd have jumped right in, but he found that type of woman no longer appealed to him. "Uh...Sorry...I'm really not very thirsty," he said as politely as he could. Truthfully, he was thirsty, but not for anything Betsy Jordan could supply. He'd been mesmerized by watching Amanda sip at her champagne, vividly reliving memories of their lovemaking in his apartment. "Maybe some other time, huh?" _What would it take to get her to take a hike? _

"I'll be here all night," she said seductively. "Look me up if...uh..." she cast a cool glare at Amanda who just smiled sweetly, "...things get dull."

Amanda snorted with laughter as the pouty blonde walked away finding herself thoroughly amused by the whole thing. She'd learned that the blonde bimbo type no longer held Lee's interest after the "Randi-baby" incident last week. When Lee gave her a look, she said, "Sorry."

"Amanda," Lee said with a look that told her exactly what had just been on his mind.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Not hungry, not thirsty and not interested in Betsy Jordan, you must not be feeling well."

Lee sighed and said, "I'm really very sorry, Amanda," as he took her arm. "I know I'm not being very much fun tonight."

"Oh, that's all right, Lee. We never have much fun," Amanda replied. Then at seeing the shocked and somewhat hurt look on his face, she backpedaled. "Oh, I mean, no, we're really not supposed to." She stammered an awkward apology and whispered about being his cover, but inwardly she wished just once that they could attend one of these parties with her just as his date, not his cover.

As their conversation turned back to their reason for being at the party, Lee still couldn't shake off the nagging doubt that had crept into his mind at Amanda's crack about not having fun together. Did she really feel that way? He could have sworn that she'd had fun during their floorplay at his apartment just a few days ago, but maybe he was wrong. Surely, she wasn't the type of woman to fake it. _No_, he thought. Her reactions to him were too intense to be fake, the way her body had trembled beneath his, the way she'd...He shook off those nagging thoughts and tried to focus on the case at hand.

A while later, his plans thwarted by the disappearance of the papers containing the dirty details of Johnny Salinas' colorful career, Lee went to look for Amanda, wondering what had taken her so long to go to the powder room. As he turned down the hall to find the bathroom, he spotted her just leaving the room and hurried to catch up with her, gently pushing her back into the room.

"Lee, what are you doing," Amanda said in surprise.

In response, Lee turned the lock on the door and approached her, sliding his hands to her waist and said, "This," just before capturing her lips in a fiery kiss and backing her up against the marble countertop. He was delighted when she responded by opening her mouth beneath his and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a deeper kiss.

Amanda moaned under the onslaught of his lips on hers, his tongue probing her mouth, his hands at her waist sliding up under her sparkly jacket to caress the skin of her back that her dress exposed when not covered by the jacket she'd worn over it, something her mother had insisted on before leaving the house. She pulled away for a moment, panting. His searing kisses always took her breath away. "So...uh...it seems...You're hungry for something, after all," she said through her heavy breathing.

"You," Lee said in a husky passion-filled voice before pushing her jacket from her shoulders and lowering his lips to her neck. "Only you," he whispered against the tender pulse point as he grasped her bottom to lift her up onto the counter.

"Oh," Amanda gasped in response as she felt his hands sliding up under her dress, bunching the fabric up around her thighs before slipping one hand inside her panties. "Lee," she hissed as he began to stroke her hard and fast, driving her over a powerful climax in mere minutes. She clamped her mouth shut as she tried to keep herself from crying out too loudly as they were in someone else's home.

"Let it out, Amanda," Lee growled as he dipped a finger into her while he continued to caress her with this thumb. "I wanna' hear you come."

Lee's words, combined with the dual-sensations he was creating sent her over the edge and she could no longer contain her response, "Lee!" she screamed as her body convulsed.

Lee removed his hand from her, slid her panties down her legs, quickly freed himself from the tight constraints his pants created and plunged into her before the tremors of her orgasm had subsided. "Oh," he groaned as her walls closed around him. He gripped her hips tightly, retreated and then slammed into her harder than before, needing to prove to her that they could have fun together even on a work assignment and that she was more to him than just his cover. If all he wanted her there for was a cover, he could have asked any woman at the agency. He knew several who would be only too happy to play the role of his arm-candy for the night, but he only wanted Amanda on his arm. Not just on his arm, in his life, in his bed, if they ever managed to make it there, and most definitely, she was the only woman in his heart. "Amanda!" he cried as he continued to drive into her hard and fast until he could no longer control himself and felt himself erupting inside her.

"Yes, Lee," Amanda cried at feeling him spurting his warm seed into her, taking immense pleasure in the fact that he wanted her, that she could cause that reaction in him when the likes of Betsy Jordan couldn't capture his attention for more that thirty seconds.

Lee halted his jerky movements as the last vestiges of his release began to subside and just held her for a moment, peppering her neck with soft kisses while he got his breathing under control. He pulled back from her, straightened his clothing, smiled a devilish smile at her and said, "Now, what was it you were saying about us not having any fun?"

Amanda couldn't help but laugh and replied, "You know that I meant at these parties. I didn't mean that we _never_ have any fun together. It's just that every party we go to, we're always working. It's...um...it's never about having fun together. It's not like it's...a...a date or anything like that." Having realized how that sounded as if she were asking him to take her on a date, she quickly hopped down from the counter, reached for her discarded panties and turned from him.

"Right," Lee said. "Not a date. We're working." He gently reached for her and turned her to face him, smiled at her again and said, "But that doesn't mean that once in while we can't enjoy our work...right?"

"Right," she said smiling back at him.

The next day while Amanda was bent over mopping the kitchen floor, her mother walked in and without so much as a hello, said, "So, you must have had a good time on your date last night."

"What?" Amanda said as she stood to face her. "I wasn't' on a date, Mother. I told you, I was working."

"Uh-huh," Dotty said as she tugged at her daughter's collar. "Exactly what kind of work results in this," she asked indicating the love bite where her neck met her shoulder. "I assume you were "working" with that Lee again."

"Mother!" Amanda said tugging her collar back in place to hide the evidence, hoping that neither of her boys had seen it as well. How would she explain it to them?

As if sensing her thoughts, her mother said, "Oh, relax, Amanda. The boys haven't noticed it and it's low enough that I don't think they will. I just happened to notice it when you were bent over the mop. So, this thing between you is still going on?"

"Mother," Amanda said in a warning tone.

"Look, I'm not trying to meddle, but I won't lie and say that I'm not concerned for you. I mean, we're talking about over a year now and yet, this man has never been introduced to the family, never been invited over for dinner. I had hoped when he asked you to meet his only living relative a couple of weeks ago that the two of you were heading toward a real future."

"Mother, please, just let me worry about that," Amanda said but couldn't help smiling as she recalled the events of the night before, "And stop trying to make him a member of the family. He's the type of man who can't be pushed. He...he's been through a lot in his life and he has a hard time opening up."

"Well, I imagine being an orphan would cause him to have some serious trust issues. I can understand that, but it doesn't seem that he has any trouble opening up in the bedroom department."

"Mother, stop, really, just stop. You just have to trust that I know what I'm doing. If I push him too hard, that will just send him running for the hills and I don't want that. I don't want to take the risk of scaring him off."

"Amanda, you're not afraid that _I'd_ scare him off, are you," Dotty said looking a bit affronted.

"Mother, I love you. You know that, but you have this tendency to..." Amanda paused as she tried to find a tactful way to put it.

"To what, Amanda?" Dotty questioned as she folded her arms across her chest.

"To interrogate my dates as if they're suspects in a homicide and you're the lead investigator. I think sometimes you've read too many Agatha Christie novels. Now, I don't want to talk about this anymore. We still have a lot of spring cleaning to do."

"All right, all right," Dotty said holding up her hands in surrender. "I just want you to be careful. I don't want to see you get your heart broken again." She then bustled up the stairs to continue her work.

Amanda gazed after her mother for a moment, then said softly to herself, "Me either."

Two days later when cleaning up the house they were assigned to, Amanda found herself once again the subject of an interrogation as Francine had cornered her while she was working on the master suite.

"Amanda, we need to talk," Francine said.

"Look, Francine, if you're going to try to bribe me into doing the guest bathroom for you again, you can just forget it. Our instructions were very specific."

"I don't give a damn about the guest bathroom. It can grow Penicillin for all I care," Francine said disdainfully at the thought of cleaning someone else's bathroom. "I want to talk to you about Lee."

"What about him," Amanda said as she continued to work, dusting around the wooden frame of the mirrored dresser.

"What exactly is going on between the two of you," Francine demanded.

"I don't know what you mean, Francine," Amanda said evasively.

"Come on, Amanda, don't give me that innocent look. I've already learned that you're not as naive or as innocent as you pretend to be. I've seen the smoldering looks that have been passing between you and Lee and the office for months. You're sleeping with him, aren't you?" She knew that she was because Lee had more or less confirmed it by his lack of answers the numerous times she'd confronted him about it.

"Francine, that is none of your business," Amanda said hotly. Who did she think she was asking her a question like that?

"Okay, you wanna' play it that way, fine! But know this, Amanda, Lee Stetson, while he can be sweet and charming when he wants to get in, can be ruthless and even downright cruel when he wants to get out."

"Speaking from personal experience, Francine," Amanda said and smiled in triumph as it was clear that she'd struck a nerve. She already knew from her weekend at the Cumberland with Lee and he and Francine had once been involved.

Francine recovered almost instantly from her moment of weakness and said coolly, "Let's just say that I've known Lee a lot longer than you have," and then quickly made her way out the door smiling smugly at having had the last word.

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"She did what?" Lee said when Amanda told him about her confrontation with Francine.

"Oh, Lee, don't worry about it, "Amanda said. "It wasn't that big of a deal. I can hold my own with Francine. I just thought you should know that she suspects that there's...you know...something between us."

"Yeah, I know. She's asked me about it a couple of times too," Lee said.

"Why didn't you ever say anything?"Amanda said.

"Because we all still have to work together and I didn't want you to be embarrassed by knowing that Francine knows. I'm sure you know by now that she's not exactly subtle."

"Oh," Amanda said not sure whether she should feel flattered that he'd tried to protect her or insulted that he seemed to think she couldn't' protect herself.

"I'm gonna' have to get her back for this one," Lee said with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

Two days later, Amanda giggled in delight as she watched Francine's facial expression change from one of glee at her booking of Mrs. Flanagan to one of sheer annoyance at Lee's gift to her. She watched in amusement as Francine shoved the offending feather duster at Lee and flounced off in a huff.

Lee looked at Amanda, grinned and said, "So, how's that for having fun?"


	38. Oh MY Gosh

Author's Note: This one is a little shorter than normal as there weren't' a whole lot of actual Lee/Amanda interactions. Many of them were Lee and Amanda's double. Sorry for the shorter length (no pun intended) but I hope you like this anyway.

**Chapter 38-Oh My Gosh**

"Odds on a Dead Pigeon"

Lee, standing in Billy's office, explaining what was going on, was growing more agitated by the minute as he thought of all the things that could have happened to Amanda. "Now, the house just doesn't look right. There's papers scattered all over the place, a drink on the end table and the ashtrays are full of cigarette butts."

"Ah," Francine said with a smirk, "A secret drinker and a secret smoker. My, my my..." She cast a knowing look at Lee to remind him of whet else she knew Amanda did in secret.

"Will you just can it, please?" Lee said, but couldn't help smiling slightly at Francine's look as it brought the memories of his time spent in Amanda's arms to the front of his mind. His smile soon faded as he gave her a stern look and when he saw her face fall, he continued. "I'm telling you something has happened to her." He looked from Francine to Billy and back again, as he continued by telling them about the shotgun and how Amanda usually had him go through the back door, not the front. Didn't they get that something wasn't right? That he was worried about her?

When Billy returned to his office a few minutes later, having found that Redding was out in six and tried to insist that Lee go into protective custody, He argued with his boss, saying, "Billy, I can take care of myself. It is Amanda that I'm worried about. Where the hell is she?"

As they exited Billy's office, Francine grabbed Lee's arm and pulled him to the side, her eyes wide. "You're really worried about her, aren't you?"

"Whatever gave you that idea?" Lee said dryly.

Francine rolled her eyes, her defensive walls slamming up at Lee's sarcasm and instead of being a sympathetic friend as she'd planned to be, "What's the matter, Lee? Afraid of losing your little backgammon partner?"

"Knock it off, Francine. I don't have time for this. I have to find her," Lee said and abruptly left her standing there gaping after him.

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At pulling her to safety, Lee was able to breath easily for the first time in days, knowing that Amanda was safe. He held her tightly to him, not wanting to let her go ever again. He'd laughed at his own joke about her last words being "Oh, my gosh," but truthfully, he'd suspected that she was the real Amanda because there was something off about the other woman's cries for help. It just didn't seem like something that Amanda would do. Hearing the Amanda-esque phrase had only clinched it for him. When Amanda pulled back slightly from their embrace, he lifted her chin, softly caressed her face and then without a word, covered her mouth with his, poking his tongue against her lips, demanding entrance to her mouth, which she willingly gave, opening to him.

Amanda moaned against him as his tongued delved into her mouth and she gripped him tightly to her, the adrenaline pumping from her near-death experience only heightened by the desire she felt building for him with every sweep of his tongue against hers. She tugged at lapels of his suit jacket, wanting to strip him of it, but was hampered by his arms being clenched tightly around her. She broke away from their fiery kisses and whispered, "Lee, I need..."

"I know," He said as he walked the away from the edge of the building to the stack of pallets behind them. He dropped his jacket as they went, before pushing her up against the pallets and tugging at the bottom of her sweatshirt, quickly pulling it over her head. He wasted no time in lowering his mouth to one breast, while he caressed the other with his hand and used his free hand to open her jeans, soon sliding it inside and stroking her through her lacy panties.

"Lee," Amanda gasped, his touch further fueling the flames of her desire for him.

"Amanda," he whispered hoarsely against her skin as his breathing became labored, his entire body aching with his raw need for her after fearing for her life for days. The thought that he might never get to be this close to her again had tortured him and despite his sarcastic reply to Francine, he had to admit that she was right and he would miss his favorite backgammon partner, who had been his only backgammon partner since their first encounter in the helicopter. As hard as he had tried to shut her out, to get her out of his mind and out of his heart, he found that he could no longer get excited about any other woman. His heart wasn't in it, so his body couldn't be either. No, it was only Amanda that could make him feel complete.

As she felt Lee tugging at her jeans, Amanda toed off her shoes to help him, needing to feel him within her again. Her near-death had given her the fiercest desire to feel alive and nothing made her feel more alive that when Lee's hard shaft was buried deep inside her. "Lee," She cried again as she tugged at his belt and the quickly moved on to the buttons of his slacks.

Lee removed her hands from hid pants and he roughly yanked down her jeans, dragging her panties with them, and as she stepped out of them, tossed them to one side, before he finished the job she's begun on his pants. "Amanda," He growled as he lowered his lips to her neck, then clasped one of her legs and hooked it over his hip and sheathed himself within her slick warmth, delighted by the feeling that he thought he'd never have again. "Oh, God," he groaned as he began to move deeper into her, pulling back and slamming into her harder than before, driving toward the completion that he craved. He knew he wouldn't be able to hold back much longer and wanting to take her with him, he slipped his hand between them, stroking her just as hard. Nearly being separated forever, now was not the time to be tender or gentle. Now, was the time for just reaffirming their connection to one another.

"LEE!"Amanda screamed as a fierce orgasm slammed into shaking her whole body like an earthquake.

"'Manda," Lee cried out equally loudly as her body shaking against his and her walls tightening around him sent him tumbling over the edge. "Amanda," he cried again as he emptied himself within her and held her tightly thrusting into her until he couldn't' take anymore, their frenzied encounter leaving him sweating profusely and gasping for air. He buried his head in her neck and gripped her tightly to him as he tried to get his breathing to return to normal.

Amanda sighed in contentment and cradled Lee against her, elated by the feeling of his thundering heartbeat close to her, feeling a smug sense of satisfaction in knowing that she'd down that to him. "Oh, my gosh, she whispered with a smile.

Lee couldn't help laughing and pulled back to see a mischievous smirk on her face, knowing by that look that she'd done it on purpose, "Famous last words, huh?"

"Something like that," Amanda said.

Lee leaned in to kiss her, but was stopped by the sound of a loud groan a few feet away. He abruptly pulled away from her, yanked up his pants and tossed her clothes at her. He cringed slightly as in his frenzy to have Amanda in his arms again, he'd temporarily forgotten about Gordon Redding out cold on the other side of the partially finished construction site. "I...uh...guess we should get him taken care of," Lee said as he reached for his discarded suit jacket and pulled it on.

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That night standing on Amanda's patio, listening to her ramble about how unnerved she'd been by seeing the other woman look like her and about how creepy it was that someone else could just walk into her life and take it over. When he'd attempted to begin to tell her how he felt, by replying that it could never happen, her attention was captured by her son, yelling about marshmallows. When she made a joke about nobody knowing where she hides the marshmallows and disappeared back inside, he walked to the picnic table, sitting on its hard surface just staring at the closed back door for a moment. If only she knew just how much more there was to it than that and how there were so many things unique to her that no one could replicate. He only wished that they had not once again been interrupted before he could tell her all the things that he wanted to tell her. He rose from his perch and with on final glance at the back door, made his way out of her yard, muttering to himself, "Oh my gosh."


	39. Woman Driver

Author's Note: In re-watching this one, it struck me just how much calmer Lee was during the scene at Nedlinger's than he had been on the street after the car wreck, so I thought, hmm, whatever could have calmed him down that quickly? This is my answer to that. For those of you who missed the "Thank you" bit, I suggest rereading Chapter 35. Hope you enjoy.

**Chapter 39-Woman Driver**

"Car Wars"

"Are you upset?" Amanda asked timidly at Lee pacing in front of the car and running his hands through his hairs, something that she knew he did mainly when he was frustrated or upset.

"Am I upset," Lee said with an incredulous look at her. "Gino is gonna' kill me for this.

"Lee, I'm really very sorry," Amanda said apologetically.

"You're sorry? _You _are sorry? You don't know Gino! Gino can get mean sometimes!" Lee grumbled at the sight of the damaged grill on the Stratford.

Amanda, trying to be the voice of reason and logic in the face of her partner's hotheadedness suggested trying to get the care repaired which seemed to cool Lee's anger as he agreed it was a good idea. _Good, he's calmer, _Amanda thought just as Lee started again with, "You realize you only had this thing for 43 minutes..."

_Maybe not, _she thought as she said, "Lee, I thought you said we weren't gonna' talk about this anymore!'

"Yeah," Lee said trying to cool his anger.

"Yes," Amanda said with a nod.

"That's right," Lee said also nodding. "Absolutely right," as he continued to repeat himself, he just kept thinking of the beating Gino had threatened him with if he didn't bring the car back in the same pristine condition it have left his lot in.

As Lee's temper flared again, Amanda put a halt to it, by saying firmly, "Lee, before that nasty little phrase "woman driver" crops into this conversation, could we please just drop it and get this car repaired?" At seeing Amanda's shaky smile, Lee sighed. "Please?"

"Yes," Lee said with a nod. "Yes, yes, yes," he repeated while Amanda thanked him. He took a deep breath and reached to open the door for her just as she reached for it at the same time their hands touching as their eyes locked and the next thing they knew, they were in each other's arms, kissing feverishly, their anger with each other only fueling the underlying desire that constantly burned between them. Reaching behind her, Lee yanked open the car door, however, just as he was about to push her to the seat, she took the lead and he soon found himself on his back on the front seat of the car, her atop him. They continued to kiss as he felt Amanda tugging at his belt with one hand, while the other cupped him boldly through his pants. "Yes," he hissed through clenched teeth as he broke away from their kiss breathlessly and ran his hands under her skirt to show her the same attention, running his hands up her thighs, under her skirt and slipping one inside her already damp panties.

"Oh," Amanda gasped at Lee's touch as she finally freed his erection from his pants. Needing more, she pushed his hand aside, gripped him firmly and adjusted her underwear just enough to guide him into her as she sank down on him to drive him deeper, causing them both to cry out.

Lee gripped her hips as she began to move against him, and muttered, "Woman driver," with a grin. She slapped at him playfully, just before he pulled her head down to his to capture her lips in another searing kiss, his tongue plunging into her mouth as he pushed his hips up against her to plunge his shaft harder into her at the same time.

"Mmm," Amanda moaned into his mouth as the change in angle only heightened each sensation driving her closer to her peak. She pulled back from their kiss, pressing her hands against his chest as pushed against him harder and faster, "You like my driving," she said with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, my God, yes," Lee said as he met each of her movements with a thrust of her hips, his excitement building at her taking the lead. Never had he imagined that not only would Amanda have continued to sleep with him for over a year while he still hedged about his feelings for her, but here she was, riding him like a triple crown winner in the front seat of a borrowed car in broad daylight. God, how he loved this woman; she never ceased to surprise him.

"Oh," Amanda cried again, just before clamping her mouth against his again, muffling the sound of her cries of release.

Lee groaned into her mouth, tugging on the back of her head as he once again deepened their kiss, his own cries muffled against her mouth as he felt himself exploding within her warm, welcoming body. He couldn't help his cries growing louder as she continued to push against him, milking him dry until it became too much to handle, his body twitching at each move she made now. He pulled back from her and gasped out, "Too much."

Amanda giggled at hearing that and knowing that it would make him just a little crazier, pushed against his overly-sensitized length once more, then at seeing the look in his eyes, once again causing more spasms from him, delighting in his reactions until he finally clamped his hands on her hips tightly to still her movements with a shake of his head. "No more," he said.

"No?" Amanda said with a sly grin.

"No," he panted. "No, no, no." As he tried desperately to get the thundering of his heart to slow and get his breathing to slow, he took in the satisfied smirk on her face. When he was able to breathe a little more normally again, he said, "Okay, okay, I get it. You made your point. You are a damn good driver."

"Yeah?" she said with a smile.

He grinned his impish, dimpled grin at her, his eyes dancing in amusement and said, "Yeah, though now I'm suddenly feeling that your comment about the _nasty..."_ he paused for emphasis, "...little phrase "woman driver" just took on a whole new meaning.

She slapped at him again, but couldn't help laughing and said, "Good," with a firm nod. "Listen, we should...uh...we should probably get this car repaired before it gets too late." She then moved away from him enough to straighten her clothes.

"Yeah," Lee said as he rearranged his own clothing and sat up. "We'll call around to some body shops and get some estimates and see where we go from there."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good plan," Amanda agreed as she settled herself into the driver's seat.

Late that day, at Nedlinger's, she couldn't get over his change in mood as they went over the estimates they'd obtained. He'd even offered to pay for the whole thing out of his own pocket. "Oh, Lee, it would be awfully hard for me to pay for all of this, but I'd at least like to try to split it with you," she offered.

"No, Amanda, no," Lee said firmly. He wasn't going to take money from her, knowing she was a single mother with two children to provide for, especially since it was his fault that she was in this mess. He softened his tone and said, "I got you into this. You wouldn't have been driving the thing if it hadn't been for me, right? Now, I can handle it somehow." He smiled at her.

"You're being awfully nice. I really thought you were still pretty angry with me," Amanda said with a smile, knowing that she'd mostly cooled his anger at her, but when he replied and starting grumbling about the amount of the estimates, she realized he was still angry, just no longer at her personally. _Well, that's something, _she thought.

Late that afternoon while Amanda in her flustered state, rattled on about how much trouble that car had been, Lee's thoughts were in a whirl as he thought about the events of the day and he had to admit that she was right. The only good that had happened since picking that car up from Gino's was their frenzied lovemaking in the front seat. "I know, I know," He said trying to soothe her rattled nerves. "I know it's been trouble," he said reaching for her hand and squeezing it lovingly. "But I'm just glad that you're all right." He then ran his hand up her arm and it struck him just _how_ glad he was that she was all right. He couldn't help looking at her, his eyes locking on hers and he knew he was betraying his feelings for her on his face. "That's what's im-" He broke off at the intensity of the look they were sharing. Amanda was the first to break the intense eye contact glancing down at his hand on her arm. "important," he finished quickly removing his hand.

"Well, I..." she cleared her throat loudly horrified at the fact that she'd nearly just blurted out that she loved him when she'd seen the undeniable look of love on his face, but she'd be damned if she'd say it first only to have him deny that he felt the same way. Instead, she said, "Thank you."

"Yeah," he said with a nod of acknowledgement. Since his uncle's visit, "thank you" had sort of become their own private code for the words that neither of them could bring themselves to say. "And you're safe now, so you can calm down."

"I'm very calm," Amanda said with a nod and a slight smile. It was utterly amazing to her that after having her life threatened yet again, all it took was being in his company to make her feel safe, secure and well, calm.

The next day, Amanda was surprised to find Francine answering the phone at Lee's desk, "Francine, It's Amanda. Could I speak to Lee, please?"

"Amanda, Hello," Francine said gleefully. "No, Lee isn't in right now, but if this is one of those suburban gossip calls, would I do?" Truth be told, she was burning with curiosity and dying to get Amanda's side of the story when it came to her ongoing liaisons with Lee. More importantly, she wanted to know exactly what it was about her that kept Lee going back to her more than any other woman he'd ever had in his bed. It couldn't just be that she was willing because there were plenty of women willing. In fact, she'd heard the whispers in the steno pool that Lee hadn't been prowling there in a good long time.

"Francine, I really need to speak to Lee," Amanda said firmly in the same scolding tone she used on her children.

"Oh," Francine said, her face falling in disappointment. "It's one of _those _calls." As she explained to Amanda where he was, she jabbed at the buttons on the phone harder than she'd intended to, her irritation getting to her. One of these days, she was going to get Amanda cornered and get the real scoop out of her. If she could crack tough-as-nails KGB agents, she could certainly get information out of a suburban housewife. She just needed time to figure out the right interrogation technique.

After finding Amanda missing, Lee's anger had finally reached its boiling point as he questioned Mario. "Your friends out there on the street, they took the car back again, only this time they took somebody with them."

"So, what's that got to do with me? That's none of my business," Mario protested.

"It's not business anymore, Mario!' Lee said rising to his feet and glaring down at the goon in front of him. "It is personal. You understand me. Personal! Now, they took a lady with that car."

"So?"

"So," Lee said pointedly. "That lady happens to be a very, _very_ good friend of mine." _God, what's wrong with me? Why can't I just say that I love her? _He drilled relentlessly at Mario, knowing that if he didn't, Amanda could die and he'd be responsible because he was the one who'd arranged for her to drive that car in the first place.

He must have broken every speed record in the book on his way to rescue Amanda, but now he had been happy to have her back by his side in his car, chasing down the bad guys together, proud of her for keeping her cool during this whole ordeal and how she'd kept her eyes peeled and gave him subtle direction to help him nail the bad guy. He now sat happily in the passenger seat of her care watching how smoothly she navigated the city streets in her station wagon on the way to Gino's. He found in watching her, he'd never be able to hear the words "woman driver' the same way again.


	40. A Pretty Interesting Dream

**Chapter 40-A Pretty Interesting Dream**

"DOA: Delirious on Arrival"

Francine stood watching Lee as she held onto the grips of the wheelchair and how his attitude toward Amanda had drastically changed since discovering that the toxin meant for him was now potentially going to affect Amanda. His demeanor even changed when addressing Billy and acknowledging the information that one of his contacts had called to when he turned his attention back to Amanda.

"Look, everything is going to be all right, but I promise you before this day is out, we're gonna' nail that creep and get your antidote."

Francine also couldn't help noticing the shy smile on Amanda's face when she replied, "Sure"

Francine shook her head slightly as she watched Lee walk away, knowing that as much as he protested, there was a whole lot more going on with him than just his normal self-deprecating guilt. It seemed, at least to her that he'd developed an unhealthy emotional attachment to his unorthodox partner.

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At finally getting Amanda off of the ledge where she'd be safe, Lee released the breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding as he gripped her tightly. He and Francine helped the loopy Amanda into the building and they walked back toward her hospital room. "Francine, can you grab her purse and her coat for me," Lee said in a still shaky voice not yet ready to relinquish his tight hold on Amanda.

"Lee, what's the matter," Amanda said as she struggled to turn in his arms facing him. "Your heart's racing. Are you okay?"

"Am _I _okay?" Lee said with an incredulous shake of his head looking into her eyes for any sign of the Amanda King that he knew and not this hopped-up version.

Amanda her hand on his chest, feeling his rapidly beating beneath her hand and said in a low, raspy voice, "I know what this is about," as she slid her hands up his chest, pressing herself against him as she planted a firm kiss to his lips. "I know what you want," she said as she pulled back.

Before he knew what was happening, Amanda had pushed hard on his chest and he found himself toppling onto the narrow hospital bed and her above him, nipping at his neck while she tugged at his tie. "Amanda," Lee said in a warning voice as he tried to stop her wandering hands.

"We never have done it in a bed, you know," Amanda whispered in his ear.

"Amanda, stop," Lee said as he finally gripped both of her hands in his and pushed her to her feet.

"You've never wanted me to stop before," Amanda pouted.

"Hey, hey, hey," Francine said as she grabbed her from behind giving Lee a you-ought-to-be-ashamed-of-yourself look as she tossed Amanda's things at him.

"What?" he said to Francine in an exasperated tone.

"You know what," she hissed back at him before turning Amanda around to walk her out the door, "Come on, Amanda, let's get you someplace safer," she said then fixed Lee with an icy glare as they left the room.

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"Now, we want to make you feel at home," Francine said as she finally got Amanda to sit on the couch after a few minutes of struggling with her. "How can we make you comfortable," She said in a gentle singsong voice that was totally against her nature.

Amanda replied, "Let's light some candles," as she picked up a baseball off the table and lobbed it at the other woman.

Francine instinctively caught it and said, "candles," as she set the ball back down.

"Good catch, Francine," Amanda said a little impressed.

In her normal voice, Francine asked, "Lee have you over for...uh...candlelight dinners?" She couldn't resist asking since her previous attempt to ask Amanda about the nature of her relationship with Lee during their undercover assignment together had gone nowhere.

Francine's eyes widened in shock when Amanda replied instantly, "All the time."

"Oh, uh, sure," she said not sure what she expected, but it wasn't that. She distracted herself by turning to find a pair of tapers, "Candles, here we go." She was completely thrown by Amanda's candor. Clearly, if Lee was having her over on a regular basis for candlelight dinners, Amanda was more than just a passing fancy for him like most of his relationships were. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved by that or more worried. As she fussed with the candles, she fidgeted nervously as she tried to talk Amanda into going to sleep, relief flooding through her when she finally dropped. She sank wearily onto the other side of Lee's sectional sofa as she contemplated the events of the day and Lee's reactions to them. What exactly was going on between these two?

_"Here's looking at you, Kid," Lee's sexy voice said just before he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately, her champagne spilling on the floor as she reached for him. She finally dropped both the glass and the baseball as she linked her arms around his neck and he lowered both of them to the floor. They tore at each other's clothing until there were no barriers between them, both needing something that they couldn't put into words as they shared fiery kisses, tender touches, longing caresses while they made love to one another for what might be the last time. The feelings that he invoked in her, she never wanted to end as she clung tightly to him while her drew her closer and closer to the release that she desperately craved. _

"Oh, Boy," Amanda cried as she sat bolt upright on Lee's sofa_._

"Well, that must have been a pretty interesting dream, huh?" Francine said with a salacious grin.

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Amanda glanced warily at Billy, Francine and Lee, "You're all looking at me awfully strangely. I certainly hope I didn't do anything embarrassing."

Lee was the only one to reply, saying "Oh, no, no. Everything is just fine," with a warm smile at her.

"Oh, Good," Amanda said smiling back at Lee.

At seeing the exchange between the two, Billy and Francine quickly made excuses to leave, Francine handing Amanda her purse on the way out, stopped by Lee for a moment asking about a baseball while she rooted through her purse, finding said baseball.

Lee glanced at the baseball now in his hand, shook his head and decided he'd better not ask. It's not as if Amanda would be able to answer his questions anyway. "Come on, let's get you out of here," Lee said as he reached for her arm to guide her out of the room.

"Home?" Amanda said.

"No, Amanda, I'm afraid not," Lee said. "Not yet, anyway. Fronan thinks that you shouldn't be alone just yet, not without some supervision from someone at the agency, not for a couple of hours at least. You know, just to...uh... make sure that the antidote has done its job properly and that there are no side effects." He paused for a moment and then said, "And I figured that, you know...since it was my chicken sandwich that...you know started all this mess, that I...well, I feel...sort of responsible. You should...you know...hand out at my place for a while...just to be safe."

"I understand," Amanda said with a slight smile at his nervousness as they walked together through the agency.

"You must be starving. The only thing you had to eat all day was that damn sandwich and then you had to have your stomach pumped, so..."

"Now, that you mention it, I am pretty hungry," Amanda said as they stepped into the outside elevator together.

"I figured you might be," Lee said. "How about we stop and get a pizza on the way to my place?"

"Sounds great. Extra pepperoni?"

"Whatever you want," Lee said.

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An hour later with the tapers once again lit, Lee and Amanda relaxed together on his sofa, champagne flutes in their hands, and the remainder of the pizza on the coffee table in front of them, Lee's Ty Cobb baseball back in its home. They'd both kicked off their shoes and Lee had removed his jacket and tie. "Thanks for the pizza," Amanda said, "but you know the champagne wasn't really necessary."

"Sure, it was," Lee replied as he sipped at his champagne. He felt more relaxed now than he had all day now that he knew that Amanda was going to be okay. "We needed to celebrate bagging Retzig and getting your cure. You know, it's funny, though. I don't remember Fronan saying anything about the poison causing any kind of memory loss." He smiled at her and then said, "Are you...uh...sure you don't remember _anything_ that happened today?" he asked wondering if she recalled the way she'd thrown herself at him today and how for just a moment, it seemed that she was willing to lift her bed ban.

"Nothing," Amanda said with a shake of her head as she sipped at her champagne. "Complete blank slate, except..."

"Except?" Lee probed.

"Well, I seem to remember having this dream," Amanda said as she rose from the couch, grabbing the baseball as she went.

"A dream, huh?" Lee said as he moved to follow her. "Hmm, did I appear in this dream at all?"

"Yeah, and you know, I was thinking, maybe if you could...um...help me reenact it. well...you know...it might just make my memory come flooding back."

"Okay, I'm game," Lee said as he smiled at the flirty look in her eyes. "Where do we start?' He asked as he wondered just what she was up to.

Amanda reached for his arm and guided him to the place he'd been standing in her dream. "Okay, so you were standing right about here and I was here," Amanda said as she maneuvered them into position.

"And was is it we were doing in this dream," Lee asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Well, it...um...it was sort of like _Casablanca_," Amanda explained. "In my dream, we were talking about having a job to do and..."

"And?" Lee said as he edged closer to her, sliding his free hand to her waist.

"Well, in the dream," she said with a smile as she held up the baseball, "You'd given me this to remember you by, knowing that we'd never see each other again."

"Oh, how generous of me," Lee said as he pulled her closer. "I guess that explains how it ended up in your purse," he added with a slight chuckle. "So, what happened next?"

"This," Amanda answered as she released her hold on the baseball, letting it drop to the floor as she used her now-freed hand to tug on the back of his head as she lightly brushed her lips with his. "And this," she said as she pressed her lips firmly against his, teasing his lips with her tongue.

"Mmm," He sighed as he responded to her kiss by pulling her tightly against him, opening his mouth to hers and letting her take the lead. He let out a low groan when he felt her tongue darting into his mouth in exploration, the flavor of the spicy pepperoni combined with the sweet champagne driving him wild. No longer content to be passive, he dropped his champagne flute to wrap his arms around her, just as he heard hers also dropping to the floor, their bodies soon joining the discarded champagne flutes.

"Lee," Amanda gasped at feeling his reassuring weight above her as he trailed kisses down the column of her throat.

"Did you dream about this," Lee murmured against her skin.

'Mm-hmm," she hummed as she yanked the tails of his dress shirt from his pants ran her hands under it to caress the bare skin of his back. "And this."

"Maybe this was in your dream too," Lee suggested as he began to work the buttons of her blouse loose one by one, placing warm, wet kisses to each new patch of skin he exposed.

"Oh, yes, that too," Amanda said breathily as she soon felt his hands caressing her breasts through the lace of her bra while he continued to work his mouth downward to her stomach before working his way back up again, stopping to nip at the tender pulse point at her neck. "And this," she said as she moved her hands to his chest and began undoing his shirt buttons the way he'd done hers, soon pushing it off his shoulders and planting kisses to his exposed shoulder, then his chest, her fingers running over his nipples.

Lee moaned against her as her touch began to drive him crazy with need for her. He pulled back for a moment to gaze into her eyes wanting so much to tell her everything that was in his heart, but he knew he lacked the courage to say the words out loud. Instead, he captured her lips in a smoldering kiss and skimmed his hands down her sides, reaching between them to flick open the button on her slacks, then sliding the zipper down. Lee pulled back from her and Amanda taking his cue, raised her hips up enough to allow him to slide her pants down her legs, dragging her panties with them.

When Lee made a move to return to her, she shook her head and said, "Uh-uh," with a nod to his pants.

"Oh, you mean this?" he said glancing down at the bulge in his pants with a teasing grin.

"Mm-hmm," she said.

"Did I do this in your dream too," He questioned his eyes alight as he dropped his pants in front of her and stepped out of them.

"Maybe," she said in a low husky voice.. When Lee once again started to return to his position, she said, "Uh-uh. All the way," as she unhooked her bra and tossed it aside, leaving her fully exposed to him, but she wanted him the same way.

"In a hurry, are you?" He said with a chuckle as her removed the last garment from his body and stood naked before her.

"No, no hurry," Amanda answered her eyes widening in appreciation as she sat up, ran her hands up his inner thighs to cup his balls with one hand and his shaft with the other before wrapping her lips around him, gently suckling him.

"Oh, God, Amanda, do you have any idea what you do to me," Lee said in a hoarse whisper.

"Mm-hmm," she murmured as she took him deeper. Feeling him growing harder in her mouth, she knew _exactly_ what she did to him.

Lee groaned in delight at the feeling of being encased by her warm, wet mouth, struggling for control as she suckled him, pulling him in and out of her mouth. It felt so good, but he knew he couldn't last much longer if he didn't put a stop to it. "Amanda," he said as he reached for her shoulder and lowered her back to the floor. He then began again the path he'd traces with his mouth earlier beginning with a nip at her earlobe, then ran his tongue down her throat, capturing one breast in his mouth while his hand found the other.

"Lee," she hissed. "Oh, Lee, I need you."

"Patience, my love," he whispered as he continued his journey downward to her ribcage, her flat stomach, then planted a tender kiss to each hip, moving even lower to nip at the tender skin of her inner thigh.

"Lee," she cried again as his brutal teasing of her.

Lee glanced up at her flushed face, her passion-filled eyes darker than normal. He couldn't resist teasing her a little more. "So, what did I do next in the dream."

"Lee," she whimpered.

"Well, if we're reenacting it, I just want to make sure I'm doing it right. I mean, it was your dream, after all."

"Lee, please don't tease me anymore," Amanda pleaded.

"Is this what I did in the dream," Lee said as he lowered his head, parting her folds and delved into her with his mouth.

"Yes," she cried, "Oh, yes," as she cradled his head to her raising her hips up to meet his questing mouth as he devoured her, licking and nipping at her tender skin until she screamed his name. "Lee!"

Feeling her writhing, hearing her screaming his name, he knew he'd done the job he'd set out to do and began to slowly work his way back up her body, retracing the same pace along her warm skin. When he got back to her collarbone and then her neck, he noticed that she had her eyes closed. He kissed her firmly as he slid one hand into her hair and said, "Amanda, look at me. This isn't a dream anymore." He wanted her to look at him, no longer caring what she'd dreamed about. He wanted her to know without a doubt that he was the one making love to her. When her eyes fluttered open, he looked deeply into her eyes as he gripped himself with his free hand and slowly sank into her, watching the reaction in her eyes as he pushed deeper inside her.

"Ohhhh," she sighed at the feeling of him buried within her. "This is better than the dream," she said as locked her legs around him and pushed her hips against his to urge him on.

Lee had wanted to savor the moment after his worry for her safety, the guilt he felt over putting her in danger had been plaguing him all day, but at her movements, he could no longer hold back. "Amanda," he whispered as he pulled back and plunged into her again, locking his eyes with hers as they began to move together. He found that with every thrust, she was right there to meet him, telling him that this was exactly how she wanted it. He soon felt his control completely slipping as she clutched his bottom and arched her back, crying out his name. "Amanda!' he cried out as he felt himself erupting within her, driving into her at a furious pace, pumping his seed into her until he had nothing left and collapsed weakly above her, worried that his weight might crush her slender body, only to feel her arms sliding up his back cradling him to her, welcoming him. He lay there sputtering and gasping in her arms at the intensity of their coupling, desperately trying to calm himself.

"So much better than the dream," Amanda said with a giggle as she rained kisses on his face and neck.

"Yeah?" Lee said as he raised his head to look at her.

"Oh, yeah," she said as she lightly kissed him.

"So, was there really a dream or was this all some scheme of your to get me like this," He teased.

"Oh, there was really a dream,' Amanda said. "More than one, I think. I seem to remember something about the bed in...I think it was in a hospital room, maybe?"

Lee pulled back from her and stood, his eyes wide with surprise. "Amanda King, you little minx!'

"What?" She said her eyes dancing in amusement.

"You remember it all, don't you?"

She laughed and said, "Don't tell anyone, okay? I'd never get over the embarrassment, especially with Francine, the way I practically attacked you in front of her?"

Lee couldn't help laughing and said, "It'll be our secret."

"You promise you won't say anything?" she said.

"Hey, I'm a spy, remember? I keep secrets for a living." He shook his head at how easily she'd fooled them all with her innocent act at the lab, even the slight blush in her cheeks when she'd said she hoped she hadn't done anything embarrassing. "Besides, I have a little confession to make of my own. Fronan didn't say anything about keeping an eye on you. The antidote doesn't have any side effects. It counteracts the poison instantly."

"I knew that," Amanda said.

"You knew th-" He shook his head. "Then why'd you agree to come with me?"

"Maybe I wanted to be with you tonight, at least for a little while, before I have to go home to my boys."

"Yeah, I...uh...I should probably get you there, huh?" He said sadly as he reached for his boxers and pulled them on.

She nodded, rose from her spot on the floor and said, "I wish I could stay longer, but Mother will be bringing them home from Goofy Golf anytime now and I want to be there to say goodnight to them before they go to bed, make sure they've done their homework, you know..."

"The normal Mom stuff that you do," Lee said with an understanding nod.

"Yeah," Amanda said as she also began to get dressed.

Amanda has just finished pulling her blouse back on when there was a knock at the door. Lee and Amanda looked at each other quizzically as Lee quickly finished the buttons on his shirt, glanced back for a moment to make sure that Amanda was decent, then turned to the door and opened it. While he did this, Amanda picked up the fallen champagne flutes and the baseball, putting them both back on the table, just as Francine pushed her way past Lee. saying, "Did you by any chance see a little red compact? I think I left it here by mista-" but then halted as she saw Amanda putting on her shoes.

"A compact?" Lee questioned. "Why would you have had it out here?"

"Well, after Amanda..." Francine paused, unsure she should finish in front of her since she didn't remember what had happened. "...Um...after I finished cleaning up the broken vase, I had it out to check..." she trailed off again at seeing the scene in front of her, the champagne bottle on the table, the glowing candles, the empty champagne flutes

"Right, 'cause God forbid you have a hair out of place when Amanda's life may have been in danger," Lee said testily.

Francine rolled her eyes, ignored Lee's jibe and gestured toward the coffee table, "Well, isn't this cozy."

"Just dinner, Francine," Amanda said as she stifled a giggle as she recalled Francine's reaction earlier when she'd questioned her about candlelight dinners. "You know, Lee felt bad about the fact that since I had to have my stomach pumped, I really hadn't had anything to eat all day."

"Oh? What was for dessert?" Francine said with an arched eyebrow.

"You know what, Francine, if I find your compact, I'll bring it to you at the office," Lee said as he gripped her by the shoulders and steered her toward the door. "I was just getting ready to take Amanda home, so if you don't mind," he said with a gesture to the open door.

"Fine, fine, I can take a hint," Francine said with a pout, but took one last glance at the two of them before exiting. She shook her head as she made her way down the hall, wondering again just what was going on between the two of them, determined that someday she'd find out for sure.


	41. You Know You're Well-Liked

**Chapter 41-You Know You're Well-Liked**

"You Only Die Twice"

"Lee, are you sure you wanna' do this," Billy said in concern for his charge placing a comforting hand on his arm at seeing the pained expression on the younger man's face as they were about to enter the morgue. "You don't have to, you know. I can make the identification myself."

Lee took a deep breath, shook of his friend's hand and said firmly, "No, Billy, if that is Amanda in there, I...I have to see it with my own eyes. I...I..." his voice became choked with emotion and he couldn't continue.

"I know," Billy said with a knowing nod. "Come on, let's get in there," he said as he turned to enter the room filled with dread at what they might find when they got there. Billy whipping out his ID, introduced himself to the attending medical examiner and he and Lee were led to the body in question.

Lee sucked in a breath as he watched the ME pull back the sheet on the dead woman's body, only releasing it when it was revealed that the body belonged to Sylvia Samson and not Amanda. "Thank God," he said his whole body relaxing. When Billy gaped at him, he said, "I mean, it's...I feel bad for Sylvia, but I...I'm glad it's not..."

"Yeah," Billy said as he looked at the relief evident on Lee's face before turning his attention back to business. "How did it happen?" he asked the ME while Lee just stood there in a numb silence, his mind working overtime as he wondered what would have happened if it had actually been Amanda on that slab. He shook his head as if to shake off that disturbing thought and joined Billy in asking questions about Sylvia's death in an attempt to get his mind off of that very depressing thought.

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As Dotty finally hung up from one of the many phone calls that had plagued the house since the obituary had been printed, she shook her head at her daughter working on thank you cards at the kitchen counter. She stepped into the kitchen and glanced over Amanda's shoulder and said, "You're going to get writer's cramp doing all of those."

"Well, you know, Mother, it is the polite thing to do," Amanda said without looking up from her task.

"Oh, I know, I know, it was very thoughtful of all of these people to send flowers and sympathy wishes." She paused for a beat and then said, "So...um...there are so many of these that I really haven't had time to look at all of them." She picked up one of the cards from the counter and shook her head. "Which one of them is from you gentleman friend, Lee?"

This finally caught Amanda's attention and her head snapped up. "None of them is from Lee," she answered abruptly.

"Well, now isn't that just sad," Dotty said with another shake of her head. "Here you are, you've been willingly giving yourself to this man for the better part of two years and he can't even be bothered to send flowers to your family upon your death? I mean, what kind of man is he. Well, I suppose that since he can't be bothered to come around and meet the family, I shouldn't be surprised by this."

"Okay, Mother, first of all, I'm not dead as you well know. I'm right here in front of you and second, Lee knew that I wasn't dead from the beginning because I saw him at the office right after the obituary was printed."

"Oh, right, of course," Dotty said. "You did go into the office, didn't you? I guess that explains it then. He wouldn't send flowers because he'd know that it wouldn't be necessary. That makes perfect sense." Dotty then wandered back into the den, picked up another arrangement and said, "You know, I'm so hungry, I could eat one of these flowers."

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Lee groaned as he set the grocery bags down on Amanda's countertop wondering just how she did this on a regular basis, though as they continued their conversation, he couldn't help reflecting on the events of the past day, how relaxed he'd felt with her after their first shopping trip as they shared a bag of popcorn. He'd never have imagined that sharing something so simple with a woman could have such meaning. It hadn't been a particularly romantic moment in the traditional sense. They'd just been discussing Sylvia's investigation that had led to the mix-up while munching on popcorn as they stood between their two cars. They had joked a little about Amanda not being dead anymore the interaction ending with him, just out of habit opening her car door for her making sure that she was safely inside before heading for his own car with a "seeya' later." He recalled how it had struck him in that moment that contrary to how he'd felt almost two years ago when he'd first teamed up with her, that he this time, he really did intend to see her later, instead of trying to chase her off.

Lee also reflected on his intense moment of panic at Teldar when he knew for sure that the guys who'd murdered Sylvia were planning the same for Amanda. Their mad dash for the helicopter under a rain of bullets had brought back vivid memories of that first case together in which he'd tried to teach Amanda how to fly a helicopter and the first time that they'd...

"Can you reincarnate me at a higher salary?" Amanda joked, snapping his mind back to the present and he couldn't help laughing.

"Here, let me help you put this stuff away," Lee said with a chuckle as he nodded at the grocery bags.

"Sure, thanks," Amanda said as she bustled around the kitchen gesturing to Lee where to put things.

While they worked to put her groceries away, Lee couldn't help noticing the assortment of flower arrangements scattered around her kitchen and den and it filled him with a moment of sadness at the thought of her actually dying. After he neatly folded the paper bag he'd just finished emptying and put it away, he stood stock-still and watched her, a sense of wonder filled him at just how comfortable he'd felt in the last few minutes helping her with such a mundane domestic task, feeling for a fleeting moment as if he belonged there, a part of her family.

When she turned toward him, having finished off the last of the second bag, he shook off that thought, knowing that it would never happen, cleared his throat loudly, gestured to the flowers and said, "So, I...um...I guess you really are well-liked."

"Yeah," Amanda said with a soft chuckle as she scooted by him to put away the empty bag, "I've got flowers here from the mailman, all my neighbors, my minister, the principal and teachers from the boys' school...just about everybody I know."

"Not...um..._everybody_ you know," Lee said as he reached for her hand, linking it with his.

Her conversation with her mother replayed in Amanda's mind at his words and she replied, "Ah, well, but you knew that I wasn't really dead, so I wouldn't have expected you to send flowers."

"But I would have, you know, if...if...you know, if I didn't already know that it was a computer mix-up," Lee said as thought of how much he liked the idea of sending her flowers, making actually romancing her for once.

"You would?" Amanda said with a delighted smile on her face.

"Sure, I mean, we're...um..." _What? _he asked himself. _What are we, really? _

"...partners," Lee and Amanda said simultaneously, their eyes locked with one another's as they moved into each other's arms, gripping each other in a fiery embrace, the mouths crashing together as Lee backed her up against the island, pressing his body to hers.

It was stupid because Lee knew she wasn't dead, but he'd been so gripped by fear that night in the morgue, fear that she was really gone, that he'd never hear her raspy voice or be graced with one of her beautiful smiles again that he needed to reassure himself that she was really alive. Never breaking his contact with her mouth, he lifted her up onto the counter, then tugged at the hem of her sweatshirt to pull it over her head, her bra soon following it. He pulled back from their kiss to look into her eyes again and said, "You are _well_ liked, you know."

"Yeah?' she said shivering slightly at the intensity of his eyes locked with hers.

"Yeah," Lee said as he kissed her again, softly this time, before trailing kisses down her throat while she pushed his leather jacket off of his shoulders and began working the buttons of his shirt loose.

"Plaid again," she said with a giggle as she pulled his shirttails from his pants.

"You're never gonna' let me forget that, are you?" Lee said with a laugh as he pulled back again to look at her.

"Mm-mm," she said with a shake of her head. "Not any more than you'll let me forget about the sexy nightgown."

"I'll be perfectly happy to let the sexy nightgown thing go...once I finally see you in one," Lee fired back. "I don't know though, like you said, it can be better without the sexy nightgown." He bent his head to her chest, taking one nipple in his mouth, tugging at it with his teeth delighting in the gaps it elicited in her before raising his head again and adding, "And you're damn sexy without it."

"Glad you think so," Amanda said as she toed off her white sneakers and reached for Lee's belt.

"Not just yet," Lee said as he stopped her with a hand on hers. "You first." He then reached for the button on her jeans, flicking it open, then the zipper.

Amanda raised her hips up to allow him to peel the tight jeans down her legs, followed by her panties. Lee then grabbed one of the stools, perched himself on it as he rained soft kisses on her stomach, her hips, down to the tops of her thighs, then the inside of her thighs before burying himself in the already-damp curls between them, wanting to taste her again. As he lapped at her, he began to feel as if he were high as the musky scent of her arousal, mixed with the sweet scent of the lilacs, tulips and other assorted flowers in the room, combined with the feeling of her hands in his hair urging him on and the sound of her cries of pleasure overloaded his senses.

"Lee!' Amanda cried, throwing her head back and gripping his hair tightly as her climax ripped through her leaving her trembling and gasping for breath. She then heard the loud thud of the stool hitting the floor, the hiss of his zipper, and had just opened her eyes again, when she felt him penetrating her, completing her in a way that only he could. "Lee," she hissed at the sensations that filled her senses the way that he filled her body, as he wasted no time beginning to move within her. She locked her legs behind his and gripped his butt firmly to drive him on, needing to feel alive after fighting the idea of being dead.

"OH, God," Lee cried knowing that with the furious pace he'd set he wouldn't, couldn't last long. He'd known it when they'd begun which was why he'd insisted on taking care of her first. He gripped her hips, pulling her to the very edge of the island as the need to be as deep within her as possible spurred him on. "Amanda!" He cried as his release hit him full force and he exploded inside her, continuing to pump his essence into her until he has nothing left and sagged wearily against her, grateful that the island was there to hold him up as his body twitched and his knees threatened to buckle beneath him.

Amanda gripped Lee tightly to her, his ragged breathing in her ear and, "I guess I _am_ well liked."

Lee looked at her and they laughed together for a moment before his expression turned more serious. he lightly caressed her face and said, "More than you know. Amanda, I-" His words were halted by the sound of tires squealing outside. "Shit!" Lee said as he pulled back from her and they both scrambled for their clothes, dressing as quickly as they could, as they heard the sounds of Amanda's car doors slamming in the driveway and the boys' chatter heading toward the French doors in the den.

"Okay, they're coming in that way, so you go out this way," Amanda said hurriedly pushing on his back with one hand while she tugged at her sweatshirt with the other.

"It's just a good thing you're mother's still a shaky driver," Lee said with a smirk as he hastened out the back door, just as Dotty and the boys entered through the French doors leading into the den.

Dotty, entering the kitchen with a carryout bag in her hand, looked at the overturned flower baskets on the counter and said to her grandchildren, "Boys, why don't you go on upstairs and work on your homework." Grumbling a little, Phillip and Jamie obeyed their grandmother, trotting up the stairs. Once they were out of earshot, she held up the bag and said to her daughter, "I brought you some dinner, but it seems that you already started with dessert." She then grinned at her.

"Mother, I don't know what you're talking about," Amanda said evasively as she began to straighten the flower arrangements to avoid her mother's piercing gaze.

"No?" Dotty said as set the bag down, reached toward one of the bouquets and plucked her daughter's bra from it, holding it up for her to see and said, "Hmm, then what's this all about?'

"Oh, come on, Mother, you're a woman. You know how it is. Sometimes, those things just get to pinching or poking you in the wrong place and you just can't wait to take them off. You know, like in _Flashdance_," Amanda said as she snatched her bra from her mother's hand. "I'll...uh...just put it away in a minute."

"Uh-huh, and this has _nothing_ to do with the fact that when I drove down the street, I saw that silver Chevrolet parked around the corner again? It's funny, I've seen that car around the neighborhood a lot lately."

"Well, Mother, Lee just gave me a ride home from the office," Amanda said as she made a hasty escape up the stairs.

"Huh," Dotty said with a shake of her head, knowing just what kind of "ride" Lee had given her daughter.


	42. All the Classic Symptoms

Author's Note: So, for this one, there were a couple of different ways that I could've played with this one, but I opted for extending the scene in the restaurant when Lee's explaining to Amanda what he's been up to as his sincere apology seemed to get things back on track for them. I thought it was the perfect spot for a little make-up action.

**Chapter 42-All the Classic Symptoms**

"Burn Out"

Amanda looked worried as Lee barreled out of the bullpen past her without so much as a hello, his disheveled appearance, the rumpled suit, the five o'clock shadow making him even more worried, Before she could dwell too much on it, she jumped as she was startled the slamming of Billy's office door.

She marched resolutely to Francine desk wanting some answers, "Francine?"

"Huh?" Francine said somewhat distractedly.

"What's the matter with Lee?"

Francine sighed and answered, "I'm afraid it's called burnout," which did nothing to alleviate Amanda's worry.

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Dotty was worried about her daughter. She was busy poring through books and hadn't even looked up at her well-timed comment about getting married until you get it right. She'd expected at least to hear a smart-alecky reply, but got nothing.

"Amanda, you're not paying much attention to me," Dotty said.

"Well, I'm trying to read this," Amanda explained, still not looking up.

"What are you reading these medical books for?" she said with a glance on one that had been abandoned on the coffee table.

When Amanda explained to her mother about her ill co-worker, she sighed as her immediate reaction was inviting her to dinner. When she'd corrected her and told her it was a him, she cringed at her mother's look instantly wishing she hadn't because then she insisted on inviting Lee to dinner. She hedged a little and made an excuse about him being shy.

"Maybe I'll spare him that," Amanda said kissing her mother before she hurried out the door.

A short while later after dragging Lee back to the agency at the coffee station with Francine, she said worriedly, "I still don't think Lee's a burnout."

"Oh, Come on, Amanda," Francine scoffed as she poured Amanda's coffee then fixed her with a steely gaze. "He's got all the classic symptoms; erosion of skills, lack of confidence, depression. Have you noticed how defensive he's bee lately? And then there's the little matter of his...uh..." she mimed downing a drink.

"You know Lee's just a social drinker," Amanda said in his defense.

"Well, then let's just say that he's been _socializing_ an awful lot lately," Francine said acidly.

"But isn't it possible that this is only temporary?" Amanda said hopefully grateful that Francine, for the moment anyway, was addressing her as an equal since it had become obvious that they both shared the same concern for Lee.

Francine glanced toward Billy's closed office door, her normally sparkling blue eyes now dark with worry, then turned back to Amanda, and said, "Out of all the agents that I've ever seen hit the wall, I can't think of one who's ever really made a recovery."

"Well..." Amanda herself now glanced toward Billy's office. "...Lee will," she said with a firm nod as if trying to convince herself. "I'm sure he will," she added more emphatically wishing she were as confident as she sounded.

A few minutes later, Lee came flying out of the office, Billy close behind, his booming voice blaring through the bullpen as he chased him down.

Amanda wanting desperately to help him, rushed after his retreating form, pleading with him to talk to her, but wasn't even able to complete her sentence before Francine stepped in front of her.

"I don't think you're getting through to him," Francine said worriedly, holding up her hand in a "stop" gesture.

"Well, I will, I know I will," Amanda said wringing her hands.

"Amanda, Let's talk," Francine said with a sigh, taking the other woman's arm and guided her out of the bullpen away from prying eyes. She steered them toward an office that she knew was empty and when the door was closed behind them, she said, "Listen, I know how charming Lee can be, how with his way of romancing women can make you feel like you're the only woman in the world for him, but don't you think you're being a little naive here?"

"Naive, Francine?"Amanda said feeling insulted. "Why is it naive to want to help a friend when they're down, to have faith in them when they don't have faith in themselves? Isn't that what a friend is supposed to do?"

"Friends, Amanda? Really? Come on, I think we're long past the point of pretending that you and Lee are just friends, especially after that intimate candlelight dinner I walked in on at his place two weeks ago."

"I already told you, that was just Lee-"

"I know what you told me," Francine cut her off, "But I also know Lee and how he'll use just about any excuse to get a woman right where he wants her. Then once he does, it's all over"

"You're wrong, Francine," Amanda said. "I don't mean any disrespect, but you're wrong. He just has a bad reputation, that's all. He told me that he-" she broke off abruptly, not wanting to tell Francine that Lee had told her not too long ago that he hadn't been to bed with anyone but her in months, but more than that, not wanting to admit that it really might be over. "Lee's really not like that, not the way that people think he is. And this burnout thing? You're wrong about that too. He's just going through a rough time and I'm going to help him through it whether he wants me to or not. Excuse me," she then pushed her way past Francine and marched toward the outside elevator.

Francine stepped out of the empty office, watching her go, the worried look on her face now not only concern for Lee, but for Amanda as well. The woman had obviously deluded herself into thinking that she had a real relationship with Lee. She sighed slightly as she recalled all too well how that had felt when she'd believed the same thing until it had all come crashing down around her ears.

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Amanda sat at her desk in the bullpen typing furiously on Lee's reports, trying to concentrate on anything but the sting she'd felt when Lee had slapped her. It wasn't the sting on her skin that had bothered her so much, but the sting in her heart that she'd been sure after their last two encounters, that they'd been getting closer and now he was shutting her out again. For the last two weeks, he'd been distancing himself from her more and more.

"Lee's report, Sir," Amanda said in a clipped tone as she tried to scurry out of Billy's office, but was halted by his low voice.

"Did Lee do this himself? I mean, it seems pretty complete for a man who considers 12:00-12:05 a full working day." He glanced at her knowingly with a nod and slight smile.

Amanda hedged for a moment and said, "Well, Sir, they're...they're done, aren't they?" She gave him a shy smile then her face once again turned to one of worry, "Sir, I'd just like to say one thing. Even though Lee's going through a pretty rough time, I think that we should all remember that he's really a very...well, a dedicated...Uh...caring...and," she paused for a moment as she tried to gain control of her emotions, but couldn't stop the quaver in her voice as she completed her thought with "...a...a good person."

Billy smiled and said, "I'll keep that in mind, Amanda." After she made her excuse to leave, Billy sighed thinking how much she truly cared for Lee and that it was a mark of her deep feeling for hm that she still believed in him even with the harsh way he'd been treating her as part of this cover assignment. He couldn't wait until the operations was a done deal and things could go back to normal. He hated seeing the sorrowful look on Amanda's face, knowing that he couldn't alleviate her worry.

"Good shot," Lee said impressed with Amanda's quick thinking with the broken limb that she'd used to knock Jack Harris out with.

"Do you think I killed him?" Amanda said nervously.

He reassured her that she hadn't and they made plans to replace her blown-out tire and meet later. He was very glad that he'd been following as that had provided the distraction that Amanda had needed to get the jump on Harris. He couldn't help smiling at he mused for the umpteenth time since he'd begun working with Amanda that while she wasn't like others in the spy business, that just might be what would make her a great agents som3e day.

Sitting at Chez Nouvelle a while later, Amanda smiled slightly at Lee gushing, "Amanda, you were really terrific. He never knew what hit him."

As they talked a while about what Lee had been up to and he explained why he'd been acting so not himself, Lee felt a horrible wave of guilt crash over him at the fact that Amanda was being so patient and so understanding even though he'd been cruel to her and had even slapped her. The hurt look on her face when he'd done that had been unbearable, but he knew he couldn't blow his cover. Now, that they were alone and away from prying eyes, he had to make it right. As he babbled and tried to get his feelings out, he became frustrated by Amanda, just saying she understood, but without making eye context with him.

"It's all right," Amanda said finally looking up, but she knew her voice didn't quite sound convincing.

"No, it's not," Lee said. When Amanda looked down at the table again, he said, "Amanda," with a little more force this time to get her to look at him. When she finally steadied her eyes on him, he said sincerely, "I really am sorry."

"It's okay," Amanda said and finally genuinely meaning it as she smiled at him. "I really do understand.

At seeing her smile, Lee couldn't help smiling back. His smiled widened at her smiling back and him and said, "What did I do to deserve you? I mean, I...I've never had anyone who's believed in me the way you do, who I..." his voice trailed off as he felt he was very close to betraying himself. He cleared his throat and said, "Uh...what do you say, we get out of here?" as he broke the powerful eye contact.

"Uh...yeah," Amanda said.

Lee took her hand, helped her rise, and still held tightly to her hand as they left their table and walked toward the exit. Lee paused before getting there, though and tugged on Amanda's hand leading her beyond the restaurant's doors and into the manager's office.

When the door was closed and locked behind them, Amanda began, "Lee, what are we doi-"but her words were but off by his lips on hers, kissing her hungrily as his hands slid to her waist and pulled her closer. Amanda gasped as he moved his mouth to her neck; his lips closing over the sensitive skin that he knew set her on fire.

"I'm sorry," he breathed against her skin. "I'm really, really sorry," he choked out in a hoarse whisper between his assault on her neck as he hands skimmed over her slender body. He looked up at her and tenderly caressed her cheek where he'd inadvertently slapped her, following the caress by a feather-light kiss. He stared into her soulful brown eyes to gauge her response and when he saw nothing but acceptance and dare he hope...love...in her eyes, he again captured her lips with his own as he pulled them further into the room lifted her up to sit on the desk, delighted at feeling her loving arms sliding around his neck, her thighs parting for him as he stood between them.

"Lee," Amanda whispered raspily through her heavy breathing and rapid heartbeat as she felt his hands moving up under her skirt, tugging at her panties and sliding them down. She was so lost in sensation, that she was taken by surprise when he abruptly broke their heated kiss and in one smooth move, dropped to his knees in front of her, his head under her skirt. "Lee," she cried louder than before at the feeling of his mouth taking possession of her. As he worked his lips and tongue furiously alternating sucking and lapping at her, driving her mad with sensation, she couldn't help her hands flying to his head as her cries grew even louder. Two weeks without him, of worrying that he was tired of her only increasing her need for him. As she neared her peak, she tugged at his head to stop his actions. "Now, Lee," she said looking deeply into his eyes.

Those two words were all Lee needed to her as he quickly freed himself from his pants and immersed himself inside her, never breaking his eye contact with her, groaning at feeling her tightening around him. He pushed into her as deeply as he could, needing her to know that this was right where he wanted to be. ""Manda," he whispered as he stood still for a moment, "So, sorry,"

"Shh, it's okay" she said as she caressed his face with both hands. The look in his eyes, the repeated apologies told her all she needed to know. He still needed her, still wanted her and even though he hadn't said the words, still loved her. She thought back to her conversation with Francine about his "burnout" and thought once again just how wrong the other woman was. What she really had were all the classic symptoms of a man in love, "Don't. Just make love to me."

"Yeah," he said with a smile as he pulled back and pushed into her again, elated at the heart within this beautiful woman and her unwavering belief in him. Even when he'd done everything he could to push her away, she refused to give up on him, still trusted him, trusted that she could help him and now was trusting him again with her heart, her mind and her body. As he advanced and retreated slowly, wanting to prolong this moment, he felt her thighs gripping his tightly, her hips pushing against his. "Amanda," he gasped in a warning tone.

Amanda shook her head as she ran her hands down his back to tug on his butt and urge him on. "Please," she rasped.

Unable to control himself at seeing the pleading look in her eyes, he pulled back again, driver into her harder than before, "Oh, God," he cried knowing that he was now beyond maintaining any semblance of self-control. He plunged into her repeatedly, gratified that she was there to meet him every time, that the distance between them over the past two weeks was a thing of the past and in this moment, there was nothing but them. Feeling her tight muscles constricting around him as she shuddered in release brought on his own, filling him with a sense of completion, of wonder that she'd still give herself so completely to him after the harsh way that he'd treated her. "Amanda!" he cried out as he erupted within her, the waves of pleasure at not only the physical release, but also the emotional one, consuming him until there was nothing left. "Oh, Amanda," he said as he caressed her cheek again, his movements now stilled.

Amanda placed her hand over his, bringing it to her lips, lightly kissing the same palm that had slapped her, not speaking, but knowing in that one gesture, that she didn't need to. They stayed locked like that for a moment, just holding each other, gazing into one another's eyes until there was a rattle of the doorknob, spoiling the moment of forgiveness.

They quickly scrambled apart and hurriedly righted their clothing, Amanda yanking her underwear back on, while Lee tucked his shirt in and re-fastened his pants, calling, "Just a second," when a knock followed the rattling. He glanced at Amanda to make sure she was decent, quickly appraised his own appearance and then opened the door to find the manager on duty on the other side. "Aaron, hi, sorry, we just needed a moment." He then turned to Amanda and said, "Aaron here's one of my contacts. He lets me use this place for work drops and meetings from time to time."

"Ahh," Amanda said as she nodded in understanding. "Speaking of work, we should...uh..."

"Yeah, you're right," Lee said as he clasped her hand again, nodded at his acquaintance and led her out of the room and couldn't help smiling at how lucky he was to have such a warm-hearted, forgiving, understanding woman in his life.

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Lee kept his cool at Brackin telling him that he was going to have to kill someone, but almost lost it when he saw Amanda enter the room. At hearing Brackin say Amanda was his victim, he locked eyes with her across the room and at seeing her give a barely-perceptible nod, his panic subsided knowing everything was going to be okay.

The next day, once it was all over he heard Amanda bashfully say, "I really don't deserve this," while staring at the certificate of valor in her hands.

"Yes, you do," He said beaming with pride in his resourceful partner as he recounted all the things that she'd done to earn that award.

After everyone had exited Billy's office, and they were back in the bullpen at her desk, he took the framed certificate from her hands, his proud look never fading as he said, "Amanda, you should be very proud of this."

"Well, I am. I just wish I had a place to hang it," She said a little hint of sadness in her voice, which was soon replaced by a warmth flooding through her at Lee suggesting that Billy could find a place for it at the office.

As they talked awhile longer, Lee couldn't help the wide grin that spread across his face as Amanda asked about getting reimbursed for her damaged sweater, one long finger poking through the bullet hole in it. "I'll see what I can do about it," he said and unable to control himself, raised her hand to his lips, kissing it with a wink at her.

"Aw," Amanda said the warmth that had been flooding through her becoming an entirely different kind.

The moment was not to last as they were both startled by Francine loudly saying, "Thank you very much," in her typical sarcastic tone as she slammed the door to Billy's office. Lee and Amanda abruptly broke apart as they saw her approaching them. "Well, well, I guess you two are back to being "friends" she said making an air quote with her fingers.

Lee and Amanda both began stammering, "I...uh...was just telling Amanda what a great job she did," while Amanda said, "you know, Francine...um...Lee was just congratulating me...on..." she picked up her award."

"Spare me, both of you," Francine said with a roll of her eyes as she flounced to her desk and threw herself into her chair, leaving Lee and Amanda laughing in her wake, Lee giving Amanda one more wink before he walked to his own desk, the smile on both of their faces never fading as they returned to work.


	43. Ruined Dessert

Author's Note: For this one, I couldn't resist playing with the fact that the character of Glen Tucker was played by Sam Melville, who later played Joe King. Hope you all like what I've done. One more of season two, then it's on to season three.

**Chapter 43-Ruined Dessert**

"Murder Between Friends"

Lee shook his head at Amanda's rapid departure after being told by Billy that he couldn't give her a raise. "I wish there was something I could to," he said feeling a little sad at having seen the dejected look on Amanda's face.

"Hopefully, thing will change. Just takes a little time," Byron Jordan replied with a smile.

Lee scowled at the look on Jordan's face. He'd seen the way he'd been looking at Amanda when she exited as well and while he trusted Amanda, he definitely didn't trust the leering look he'd seen on the guy's face or the way that he'd followed her movements with his eyes. He just hoped to God for his sake that he wasn't thinking of making a move on _his_ girl.

Amanda couldn't help smiling at Byron Jordan's effusive praise of her as he showed her into his office, telling her what he'd learned about her from her co-workers. She took a seat, slinging her purse over the arm of the chair and said, "Well, this is really very flattering, but I don't know anything about security systems."

"I do, any questions, ask me," Jordan replied confidently as he leaned against the edge of his desk. He gazed at her and added in a softer tone, "You'll learn. Besides, you're nice to have around and I like that."

"Thank you," Amanda said as she looked down at her hands. While she was flattered by his obvious interest in her, she felt it best to keep things to a professional level. When she looked back up at him, she changed the subject, saying, "I think the agency needs people pretty badly right now."

After Jordan's further attempts to persuade her, she left his office with her thoughts in a whirl, her comment to him about leaving some pretty good friends behind playing over and over again in her mind. In truth, there was one particular "friend" that she was worried about leaving behind above all the others. "Lee," she said in a whisper as she walked to her car. As she slid behind the wheel, she couldn't help wondering what he'd think, how he'd react if she chose to leave. Would he miss her? Would he ask her not to go? She sighed as she started the car trying to shake off those nagging thoughts as Mr. Jordan had told her that she's still be working in conjunction with the agency, so it's not as if she'd never see him again and it was double her current salary. That was a definite plus as she could really use the money for her children. Her decision made, she nodded firmly and pulled her car out into the DC traffic to head back to the agency.

When she arrived just as Lee's meeting was breaking up and the agents in it were dispersing, she found that explaining it to them was harder than she thought it was going to be. Francine had scoffed at the idea of Byron Jordan offering her double her present salary, Billy commenting that Jordan was a good man while Lee stood there silently looking as if he'd been sucker-punched, but he looked down and refused to make eye contact with her. When he looked up at her for a moment, she said "I need the money," as a justification for her actions and he dropped his head again, not looking at her. She looked back at him for any sign that he didn't want her to go, but he still just stared at the folder in his hands. Unable to bear it any longer, she turned her gaze to Billy, saying, "I guess this means...I'll be resigning from the agency."

"Oh," Lee replied, Amanda's words like a knife cutting through his heart. He couldn't look at her, knowing that the pain he felt would show on his face.

The following morning while Amanda bustled around her kitchen, her mother rambled on and on about this new opportunity and how she never liked the idea of her working for IFF, giving her the occasional pointed look that Amanda knew were not just about her change in careers, but about leaving behind the man her mother knew she'd been involved with. While she knew she wouldn't be blunt enough to say anything about it in front of the boys, she knew all too well what was behind her crack about starting a whole new life had more to do with Lee than it did the job. She knew her mother didn't approve of her tumultuous relationship with Lee and was endlessly irked by the fact that she refused to bring him around to meet the family or even provide her with his last name. She hurried to get out the door before her mother could get her alone to grill her about it, kissing her boys and then her mother, hollering a "Have a good day!" as she sailed out the front door breathing a sigh of relief that she'd escaped unscathed.

Lee smiled warmly with an exuberant, "Hi," at seeing Amanda in the bullpen, but then quickly caught himself and turned his attention back to the weapon in his hand.

"What happened, Jordan fire you already," Francine quipped as she looked up at her.

When Amanda explained that she'd just come to turn her things into Billy, she found herself irritated by Lee's nonchalant attitude when asking about how things were going with her new job and his noncommittal, "It's great to see you," belying the feeling behind the smile she'd seen on his face when she'd first walked in.

After chatting for a moment about the mission that they were gearing up for, Lee feeling a little bad about the hurt look he'd seen on Amanda's face, approached her and said, "I'm glad everything's working out with Jordan."

"Lee, you know...I...Um...I took this job because I _had_ to," she tried to explain.

"I know, I know," Lee said as he desperately wished that he could do something to help her out of her financial crunch so that she wouldn't have to leave the agency. Above all, he wished he'd told her long before now how he felt about her, but now it was too late. If he told her now, it would only seem as if he were trying to convince her to stay, but he still wanted to let her know in some way that he cared, Beaming brightly at her, he offered, "You take care of yourself, huh?"

"Yeah, you take care of yourself," Amanda replied stiffly, not sure how to take Lee's rapidly shifting moods, frowning as she watched him walk away.

That afternoon as her new boss walked her to her car, she was taken aback for a moment by his dinner invitation, but accepted anyway, figuring what harm could dinner cause? Besides, it was strictly business, wasn't it? Even if it wasn't, she was single, wasn't she? Her thoughts drifted for a moment to Lee, wondering again what he was really thinking. She sighed and decided not to dwell on it as she pulled her car out of the driveway.

Amanda found herself surprised by the enjoyable dinner she'd had with Byron and had turned the conversation toward business, but he didn't allow her to keep the topic to business for very long.

"Look, Amanda, I like you," He said giving her a warm smile. "I like you a lot. I've liked you from the first moment I laid eyes on you." Amanda couldn't help the small smile and the slight blush that crept into her cheeks as he talked about not being pushy and just letting things go with the flow. She thought how nice it was to have a man be that open with his feelings, which caused her thoughts to turn back to Lee and his reluctance to tell her how he really felt about her. Why couldn't the man that she really wanted be that open? The evening ended on a somewhat positive note, saying pleasant good-byes.

Less than twenty-four hours later, she couldn't believe her luck, she was sitting in a jail cell listening to her call mate, Wilma, talking about the man she'd done in and assuming she was guilty of Jordan's murder.

When Lee arrived, Amanda cringed slightly at Wilma's, "Is this the one you keep on the side?" She quickly introduced them as she thought about the fact that there was no one on the side of anything. Lee was the only one for her. She just wished she could get him to own up to the fact that he felt the same way about her.

Once Wilma was gone and she'd told Lee that she didn't do it, and he acknowledged that he knew that, the conversation took on a whole different tone when Lee asked her pointedly, "What were you doing there?"

"Having dinner," she answered succinctly.

"Just dinner?" Lee questioned.

"Just dinner," Amanda repeated. "Just dinner and we discussed a little business."

"Business?" Lee said skeptically.

"Business,"

"At his house?"

"Right."

"With candles," Lee added with a shake of his head, his temper rising at the idea that Amanda had replaced him after only one day on the job as he reflected back on the candlelight dinner they'd shared just a few weeks ago. He'd thought at the time that it had meant as much to her as it had to him, but now he wasn't so sure.

"Yeah, with ca-" Amanda broke off at the hardened look on Lee's face as she realized how it sounded, suddenly feeling as if she'd cheated on him just by being there. "Look, he told me that he liked me."

Lee shook his head and explained to her that by being honest with the police about that fact, she'd just made herself look more guilty by handing them the motive.

"I didn't resist it," Off Lee's look of disdain, she continued, "He didn't pressure me. I didn't _have _to resist."

Early that evening at her house, Amanda felt the most incredible sense of déjà vu as she ended up having virtually the same conversation with her mother, having to explain that she wasn't fighting off her boss' advances because he didn't make any and that he was a very nice man. When her mother tried to press her further, she made an excuse about bringing the wash in and hurried outside to find Lee waiting for her to tell her that he'd found her a good lawyer. She couldn't help but notice in the ensuing conversation that he seemed a lot more relaxed than he had at the police station and when he was ready to leave, he'd even left her with that adorable, dimpled grin that she'd grown to love so much. His promise to her to get her out of the mess she was in ringing through her ears as she finished up with the laundry.

Later, that night, Lee breathed an immense sigh of relief when Amanda's coughing had subsided and she'd begun breathing normally again. He found himself now extremely grateful that he'd come by on the pretense of seeing how she'd liked her lawyer. Honestly, though, he'd just wanted to see her again, knowing that now that she'd resigned from the agency and Byron Jordan was dead, her path may never cross his again.

The following day, Amanda got a bit of a chill as she watched Tucker and Lee fighting, Tucker's resemblance to Joe, creeping her out a little. When she'd first met him in Byron Jordan's office, she'd not really thought much about his strange similarity to her ex-husband as she figured it was just one of those things and didn't they say everyone in the world has a double somewhere? While it had been very scary to have a man who was a dead ringer for the father of her children, chasing her and then capturing her, this was much scarier. Now, as she watched the two men scuffling, a thought crossed her mind of what might happen if Lee and Joe ever met face to face. Joe knew her well enough that if he ever saw her and Lee together, he'd instantly realize that she was in love with him and Lee... Well, he'd already displayed a few moments of jealousy when she'd mentioned Joe's name, especially the last time that Emily had been in town when he'd asked her about the Georgetown sweatshirts she wore. She also knew Lee's temper and wondered if Lee would end up wanting to fight Joe like he was his double.

Amanda quickly jumped aside as they approached her, letting out a tiny gasp as she watched Lee fling Tucker over the railing and into the cake below. They glanced at each other for a moment, then down at Billy and Francine pulling Tucker out of the destroyed cake. They then looked back at each other as Lee said with an impish grin, "I think I ruined the dessert."

They both smiled warmly, chuckling softly and Lee wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as they looked back down at the chaos below. Amanda shook her head slightly as she watched Tucker being led away in handcuffs. Lee dropped his arm and turned her to face him and said, "Amanda, what is it?"

"Oh, it's...it's..."Amanda hedged wondering if she should even bring it up.

"What?" Lee pressed.

"It's just the strangest thing. That man, that Mr. Tucker, he...he looks identical to Joe."

"Joe?" Lee questioned searching his memory banks for that name. He was silent for a moment and then it hit him, "Oh, your Joe."

"Well, no, not _my_ Joe. I mean, not anymore," Amanda answered.

"Oh, no, of course not your Joe...I mean, you're...uh...divorced, right? So, it's...um...it's over, isn't it?" Lee queried searching her eyes for confirmation.

"Oh, yes," she answered quickly at seeing the fear in his eyes tinged with a hint of jealousy. They were both silent for a moment as they stared awkwardly at one another. Seeing the apprehensive look in Lee's eyes, Amanda felt the need to emphasize it. "It is really, really over and you don't have to be jealous." She gently laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Jealous? Who's jealous?" Lee said turning from her and making a big show of straightening the panting around the corner than had been knocked askew during the fight with Tucker.

"You are," Amanda said as she placed her hands on his shoulders from behind. "It's okay. I understand it. I...um...I mean, we've been, well, you know and I..."

"Look, I'm not jealous, Amanda," Lee argued as he turned to face her, unnerved by the direction the conversation was heading and even more unnerved by her standing so close to him with that knowing look in her eyes. "You just said there's nothing there anymore, right? So, I don't have anything to be jealous about."

"Right. There's nothing there," Amanda confirmed as she edged closer to him.

"Just like there's nothing between you and-" his words were cut off by their lips meeting, first gently and then more firmly as they locked their arms around each other. Lee backed them up into the bathroom that had just been vacated by Augie right before he'd gone sailing over the balcony. As he did so, he kept a firm grip on Amanda's waist, his lips locked with hers and was delighted to hear the loud click of the door closing behind them. He pulled back to look at her for a moment and the blazing look in her eyes that was directed only at him told him all that he needed to know. He captured her lips with his own as he pressed her against the door while his hand slid under her skirt.

Amanda gasped as Lee caressed her intimately, her passion for him only increased by the guilt that had been plaguing her for days over her decision to leave the agency, thereby leaving him behind. Now, that he was here in her arms again, she wanted all of him that she could get. She reached to undo his pants, quickly slipping her and inside to stroke him. When Lee emitted a loud groan and tore his mouth from hers, she whispered, "Now."

That one word was all that Lee needed to hear. He used the hand beneath her skirt, to slide her panties aside and the other to lift one of her legs to rest on his hip then immersed himself in her, his eyes never leaving hers as he did so. They both cried out at the renewed connection between them as he began to move deeper into her while she in turn, pushed against him. "Amanda," he growled as he felt her closing around him, welcoming him the way that she always did. The events of the past few days had made him realize how much he would miss that if it were gone. With that thought on his mind, he picked up the pace, needing her to know it too, driving into her hard and fast, elated that she matched him thrust for thrust, all the while looking into his eyes, the fire burning within them telling him that she felt the same way. Maybe he didn't need to tell her how he felt. Surely, she should know because he knew the same fire he felt for her had to be showing on his own face. As they moved together, he began anew his stroking her wanting to make sure that she got just as much pleasure out of their union as he did. He was rewarded within seconds, hearing her primal cry of release and feeling her tightening around him. "Amanda," he cried again as her climax brought on his own as he felt himself once again exploding within her warmth, his seed filling her the way that she filled his mind and his heart.

"Oh, Lee," she rasped as she locked her hands behind his neck, pulling him in for a long, lingering kiss as they both came down from their high. clinging to each other tightly. When they were both a little calmer and their kiss finally ended, she teased, "So, not jealous, huh?"

"No," Lee said softly. "Not when I know it's me you keep coming back to."

_Here it is, _Amanda thought, _The perfect moment to come clean. _"Lee, I keep coming back to you becau-" her statement was halted by the sounds of shouting coming their direction.

"Save that thought for another time," Lee said with a smile as he pulled back from her and they both scrambled to straighten their clothing. He couldn't help the wide smirk crossing his face thought as they slipped out of the room once they were sure the coast was clear. While she may not have spit the words out, he knew she felt them and that was enough...for now.


	44. We Could Go to Dinner

**Chapter 44-We Could Go to Dinner**

"Vigilante Mothers"

Le was perusing the file Billy had just handed him, saying, "Leonard Fletcher, huh. Says here he lives on Braden Avenue in Arlington."

"So?" Billy said wondering where he was going with this.

"Well, that's about a block away from where Amanda lives." He reviewed the file for a moment longer and after a beat, added, "Which gives me a great idea."

While Lee opened the door to Billy's office and called for Amanda, Francine gave Billy and now-what-is-he-up-to look to which Billy just smiled knowingly with raised eyebrows to which Francine just scowled as she'd seen the interaction between Lee and Amanda in the bullpen just before they'd been called into Billy's office. She couldn't believe how Lee had let Amanda ramble on about her expense voucher when he'd always been irritated that that before and when she'd tried to interject with a joke about claiming her gas mileage so she could add to her wardrobe, he's made a biting comment about her expensive tastes, shutting her out and turning his attention solely on Amanda. She's watched, silently seething as he listened with rapt attention while Amanda had yammered on about her environmental group and had even seemed interested in her blather.

When Amanda entered the room, Lee tossed the file aside and asked, "Amanda, is that house at the end of your street still up for rent?"

"You mean the Cooperman house? I think so, why?"She inquired.

"Well, I know someone who wants to rent it for a while," Lee answered.

"Who?"

"Me," Lee replied. "I wanna' get closer to someone who lives there."

Amanda's eyes widened in surprise, unable to believe that he would say something like that in front of Billy and Francine. She glanced at each of them as she shifted nervously and finally, when Lee looked at her expectantly with a "What?" she said in a somewhat hushed tone, "We could go to dinner. You don't have to move down the street."

Lee's face broke out in a bright grin at her misunderstanding, but couldn't help being happy that she'd suggested it even if it wasn't what he meant. That meant she was not entirely closed-off to the idea of them having a real date. He did need to explain to her what was really going on, though he couldn't stop his smile as he did so.

That night after Amanda had shooed her children upstairs to go to bed, her mother wasted no time in pumping her for information. "Amanda?"

"Mm-hmm," Amanda replied as she continued with her task of wrapping up leftovers from dinner not turning around.

"Tell me about our new neighbor."

At that, a look of alarm crossed Amanda's features as she turned her attention to her mother for a moment and answered evasively, "What neighbor?"

"Oh, that nice-looking man who rented Mrs. Cooperman's house. I saw him this morning when I was jogging. He was picking up his newspaper." She couldn't be one-hundred percent sure, but she had a feeling that he was the same man that she'd seen lurking in the back yard from time to time, the same man who was the owner of the beautiful silver sports car as well as being the owner of her daughter's heart.

Amanda turned from her mother so she wouldn't see the flush that had crept into her cheeks and said nonchalantly, "Oh, you mean...uh...Mr. Sampson?"

"Oh, yes, that's a good strong name," Dotty said as she carried two teacups into the den, Amanda following behind her with a nervous chuckle. "He's not married."

"Oh, he's not," Amanda replied as if that were the most fascinating bit of information in the world, but knowing all too well where her mother was going with it.

"I checked."

"Mm," Amanda nodded.

"I didn't get a very good look at him, but he has a very strong profile..."

"Good."

"...And very good posture."

"Good posture's very important." Amanda focused her attention on her teabag while she waited for the other shoe to drop.

"Amanda, why don't you invite him over for dinner?" _Here it comes, _Amanda thought. "I mean, you know, uh, just kind of welcome him to the neighborhood."

"He's probably very busy, Mother," Amanda reasoned as a way to get out of it while she sipped at her tea. The last thing she needed was her mother meeting Lee and trying to play matchmaker with him when their pseudo-relationship was already tentative at best. She knew that would only serve to make Lee uncomfortable, especially after her faux pas at the office when she'd misunderstood his intentions.

"He has to eat, doesn't he?" Dotty retorted with a bit of an edge in her voice at her daughter's ambiguous replies.

"Yeah, but he probably is the kind of man who just grabs a sandwich and runs out the door," Amanda argued. "You kn-"

"All the more reason that he would like a home-cooked meal," Dotty but her daughter off before she could argue any further. She was dying to see them together so she could know for sure if this was the same man that her daughter had been having her torrid love affair with for months and months. She knew if she could just see how her daughter interacted with him, she'd know in an instant if he were the same person.

"Okay, Mother," Amanda nodded again.

"The next time you see him, why don't you just ask him over for dinner," Dotty suggested.

"I will," Amanda answered, but knowing she'd do no such thing. Inviting Lee over for dinner to be grilled by her mother had disaster written all over it.

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"Amanda, Get ready to get out and get out fast," Lee warned Amanda in a panic at her having told him that she'd seen Robert Castille messing around with the car they were in. He quickly pulled the car to a stop, flying out of the car and watching worriedly as Amanda did the same, reaching for her hand, pulling her along with him, not wanting to let go until he knew she was safe. As they tumbled to the ground together, rocked by the force of the explosion, he wrapped his arms around her protectively, breathing heavily until he looked at her only to find her looking back at him. He breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that she was okay.

They stared at the flames for a moment, before they turned back toward each other, Lee give her a questioning look to which she gave a slight I'm-okay nod as she turned in his arms to face him. Lee gazed at her, his heart pounding at yet another near-death experience shared with her. He slid his arms down her back and lightly brushed her lips against his when they were interrupted by the squealing of tires as a beat up pick-up abruptly pulled to a stop, the driver climbing out hurriedly and rushing toward them, saying, "Are you folks okay?"

That night, Lee just about jumped out of his skin at Amanda appearing behind him out of nowhere. "Ahh!' he yelped.

"Hi," Amanda greeted him, amusement showing on her face at his reaction.

Lee let out a breath and said in irritation, "Amanda, you just about scared the hell out of me."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Now, you know what it feels like," she pointed out, her tone and her amused expression telling him that she was anything but sorry.

"Yeah." Lee shoved his hands in his pockets. He had to admit that she was right, but that didn't lessen his agitation. "Just what are you doing in my shrubs?"

"What are _you_ doing in your shrubs," Amanda fired back, knowing that he hated it when she answered a question by repeating the same question back at him, thoroughly loving that she'd gotten one over on him after her embarrassment in the office the other day.

"What am-" Lee stopped abruptly as it hit him what she was doing. Deciding that he wasn't going to let her goad him, he explained about the sprinklers.

A while later, sprinklers turned off, he let himself into the house with the key that Amanda had helped him find. One thing he could say about this particular case, he was learning a whole lot more about Amanda and the ins and outs of her everyday life and found, much to his surprise, that the idea of life in the suburbs wasn't as abhorrent to him as he'd once thought it would be.

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After Castille had been caught and the case almost wrapped up, Lee sighed as he packed his personal things to take back to his own place a little saddened by the fact that he would no longer be so close to Amanda. Those thoughts plagued his mind as he haphazardly tossed items from the dresser into the open suitcase on the bed until he was surprised by a knock on the door.

Lee quickly trotted down the stairs and opened the door to find Amanda on the other side of it. He couldn't resist the wide grin that spread across his face at seeing her with one of her famous poppyseed cakes in her hands. "Hi," he said warmly.

"Hi," she replied in kind as he admitted her into the house. "So...uh...now, that this case is done, I imagine you'll be going back to your apartment, so I...um...I just wanted to say goodbye." She held up the cake in her hands.

He took the cake from her hands, set it down on the coffee table and turned back toward her. "Thanks, but you know...this...uh...was just for this case...and it's not really necessary. It's not like I'm a real neighbor moving out."

"Oh, I know, but it's...you know...the neighborly thing to do anyway." She paused for a moment, unsure if she should say what was really on her mind. She took a deep breath and decided to go for it. "I...um...I'm going to miss having you just down the street."

"Well, we do still work together," Lee pointed out as he reached for her fidgeting hands to still them. "So, it's not like we're never going to see each other again." He paused for a beat and then said, "In fact, I was thinking about what you said at the office the other day...you know...about...um...going to dinner?"

Amanda blushed and replied, "You know, that...um...that was just a misunderstanding because I thought...um...you know, since we've..." she trailed off and looked down in embarrassment.

"I know," Lee said as he released one of her hands to tilt her chin up, looked into her eyes and continued, "But that doesn't mean that it was a bad idea."

"You mean...:" her heart leapt at the thought, but before she could fully process it, Lee's lips were on hers, his arm, sliding around her waist to pull her closer as his tongue delved into her mouth.

"Mmm," Amanda moaned into his mouth as she tugged at the buttons of his partially open shirt until she'd given herself enough room to caress his chest, loving the feeling of his taut muscles beneath her fingertips. She then broke their heated kiss and replaced her hands with her lips as she moved her hands downward to free him from his pants, pushing them down to his ankles, then began caressing him while she flicked her tongued against one nipple.

"God, Amanda," Lee groaned at the dual sensations. He slipped his hands under her skirt, yanking her panties down roughly, needing this one last moment with her before he moved back across town and left her suburban life.

"Lee," Amanda hissed against his skin when he touched her center, stroking her, stirring her endless passion for him as they toppled to the floor locked in each other's arms, much like they had when escaping certain death. "Lee, I need you," she pleaded.

"Me too," he whispered to her as he guided himself into her warmth, wishing like hell that he didn't have to leave the hominess he'd found in her neighborhood and go back to his lonely, empty apartment.

They moved together, locked in each other's embrace kissing fervently and whispering heated words against each other about how good they made each other feel, culminating in an explosion hotter than the one they'd escaped as they cried out one another's names, holding onto each other tightly.

When his heart rate had slowed a bit and his rapid breathing had subsided enough to allow him to form a coherent thought, he said, "So...dinner?"

Amanda laughed and replied with a seductive grin, "As long as it includes dessert too."


	45. No More Grabbers

Author's Note: So, once again, we have episodes that were aired out of order just in case anyone wonders why this is where I'm beginning season 3. The first five episodes of season 3 were aired out of order and while there has been much debate on which order they should actually be in, I am putting them in the order of the script dates on the ones I could find and based on where their relationship is as well as when they are working in the Q Bureau and when they're not. When watching this again, I couldn't help noticing that after her catty comment to Amanda at the garden party, Francine blew Lee a little kiss just before she dragged him away so I couldn't resist playing with that here.

**Chapter 45-No More Grabbers**

"Welcome to America, Mr. Brand"

Lee shifted nervously hedging a little as he told her partner, "Listen, Amanda, this isn't going to be exactly the way I described it, okay? This guy is a little...Um..different." He glanced the direction of the dining room then back to her, "Um...I'm sure he's a gentleman."

"Lee," Amanda said worriedly, "You promised no more grabbers."

"No, no, no, no," Lee replied quickly to reassure her. "This guy is not a grabber, believe me. He's much better than that, much."

"What is he exactly," Amanda queried with a look of amusement on her face wondering just what it was that Lee hadn't told her about her assignment.

"He's an accountant," Lee finally told her.

"Oh," Amanda nodded in understanding.

"In pensions,"

'OHO, that's really very exciting," Amanda said her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh," Lee said with a smile.

"You owe me for this one, Stetson," Amanda fired at him as she stalked into the dining room.

As he watched her walk away, he found himself once again surprised by her. Just when he thought he had the upper hand, she somehow always managed to get the better of him. "huh," he said to no one with a shake of his head as he walked away.

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At the garden party, Lee and Amanda were chatting about the case and he was warning her to keep James Brand out of trouble. "Let's face it, Amanda, the guy is a little strange."

"Oh, Lee, I like him," Amanda said kindly.

"Of course, you do," Lee replied sarcastically and at seeing the scolding "mom" look on her face, shifted his attitude, saying, "He's an okay guy, in limited doses, but keep him out of trouble."

"I will," Amanda promised with a firm nod just as Francine approached them.

"Amanda, what a lovely outfit," Francine gushed.

"Hello, Francine, thank you," Amanda said with a cordial nod.

"My mother has the same thing in fuchsia," Francine added cattily. Just as Amanda fixed her with an icy glare as was about to retort, Francine quickly turned her attention to Lee, "Lee, would you join me for a drink?" She explained why, then blew Lee and little kiss,

As Francine grabbed Lee's arm, he threw Amanda an apologetic look. "We'll stay out of trouble," Amanda said and then her voice once again oozing sarcasm, tinged with a bit of jealousy added, "You have a nice time with Francine." Amanda shook her head, trying to reign in her temper, took a deep breath, plastered on a smile and went off to find James, though she still couldn't help wondering why it was that Francine still acted so possessive toward Lee. She'd already figured out that they'd once been involved, but just like many other aspects of his personal life, Lee had not shared the details with her. Her nagging thoughts of Lee and Francine were soon replaced by worry for James when he insisted on getting into the house and she was unable to stop him.

Later that day, back in her own kitchen, she couldn't help noticing her mother's disdainful look when she'd heard James mentioning that he'd heard her conversation with Lee. At the mention of Lee's name, she glanced at her mother warily who gave her a reproachful look, picked up the serving tray from the counter and said, "I think I'll take the boys some tea," with a nervous chuckle, but she couldn't resist one last parting shot as she stared up and down at Amanda's ruined outfit. "Amanda, Dear, why don't you invest in a nice pair of overalls for work?"

As she carried the tray upstairs, she shook her head wondering exactly what was going on with her and this Lee. She'd thought when her daughter had told her about the Englishman she was going to this party with, that that meant she was done with her mystery lover, but in hearing her new date mention Lee's name, now the same old concern was rearing its ugly head. She'd have to get her daughter alone again to question her about it, not that she'd tell her the truth, but she'd be able to tell by her reactions if there was still something going on there.

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After bagging the bad guy and saying goodbye to James, Amanda walked to her desk in the bullpen to find a box on her desk with a note from Lee. "Huh," she mused thoughtfully wondering just what it was about. As she opened the box, she found inside a Gi with a white obi. She smiled slightly wondering just what he was up to. She read the note and without hesitation, grabbed the box and exited the bullpen making her way toward the internal elevator.

Twenty minutes later, she was exiting the women's locker room and entering one of the training rooms to find Lee similarly attired. Upon seeing her enter, Lee gave her a dimpled grin and bowed toward her. She bowed back as she knew enough to know this was the proper response, but then gave him a curious look. "What is this all about?"she inquired.

"Well, my session with Dr. Pain reminded me that I've been meaning to help you improve your hand-to-hand skills ever since that incident this summer with that smarmy Interpol agent who couldn't keep his hands to himself. I thought...uh...I thought maybe we should beef up those self-defense skills in case something like that ever comes up again." He approached her slowly, the grin on his face widening, his dimples deepening.

"Oh, well, that's really very thoughtful of you." She couldn't stop herself from smiling back at him as she met him halfway across the mat in the middle of the room. "So, how to we start?"

"Well, first, I want to see where your skills are, so I know just what you still need to learn," Lee answered in a low, seductive tone. "For instance, what would your reaction be if a guy did this?" He then grasped her bottom and pulled her tightly to him causing her to emit a little squeal. Amanda wriggled out of his grasp, trotting quickly to the other side of the mat. "Tsk, tsk, tsk," Lee said with a shake of his head. "No, that's not the proper reaction at all." He moved stealthily toward her again.

"I got away, didn't I?" she challenged him.

"Uh-huh. That's the old fight-or-flight reaction. You've got the flight part down to a tee, but you need to work on the "fight" aspect now."

"Oh."

"So, next challenge. What if a guy did this?" He then roughly grabbed her left breast, kneading it roughly, just before he found himself flat on his back with well-timed foot sweep from Amanda.

"Is that better?" Amanda asked him as she stared down at him, a daring look on her face.

"Better," he answered as he pulled himself to his feet. "But now here comes the real test." He then grasped her waist with both hands and covered her mouth with his own, his kiss forceful and demanding. Instead of putting up a fight, Amanda readily gave in to him.

Amanda moaned against Lee as she yielded to his demanding mouth on hers, tugging at his lapels, using her foot to sweep them both to the floor with him landing atop her, both of them letting out an "Oof," as they lay sprawled together on the mat.

"Not quite the response I was looking for," Lee said in a throaty whisper.

"Well, maybe you'd prefer this one," Amanda countered as she tugged on the back of his head and pulled him down to her for another heated kiss as she ran her hands down his back to grip his bottom.

At Amanda's boldness, Lee found himself forgetting all about his plan to teach her how to defend herself, sliding his hands down to loosen the obi at her waist and peel apart the top of her outfit to expose her to him, lowering his lips to capture one breast in her mother while he felt her doing the same with his. He pulled back from her just long enough to slide her pants down her legs and remove his own before returning to her arms. "You know, this isn't really proper protocol."

"I don't care," Amanda responded just as she'd responded to his touch. "Aren't you the one who's always telling me that rules are made to be broken?"

"Just wanted you to be prepared if you run across another grabber," Lee fired back as he grasped her breasts thumbing her nipples in to taut peaks.

Amanda gasped and said, "Since you're the biggest grabber of them all, maybe you're not in the best position to teach me." As he touched her and stirred her fire for him, she found all the jealousy she'd felt regarding Francine fading. He may have a past with the blonde, but he was here with her in the present and she hoped, in the future.

"Oh, I don't know. I kinda' like the position I'm in right now." He then pressed himself against her. "I do seem to recall you saying something about be owing you one, so how's this for a start?" He began to rain hot, open-mouthed kisses down her body, from her neck to her stomach and finally to rest between her thighs, his tongue flicking out to taste her.

"Yes, you owe me," Amanda whispered but couldn't form another word as Lee dove into her with his mouth, his lips and his tongue against her center, further spurring her desire for him. She shuddered beneath him as she cradled his head to her, her sighs, moans and having breathing telling him exactly what he was doing to her.

At hearing her loud cries of release, Lee raised his head grinned at her and asked with an impish grin, "So, how was that. Are we square now?"

"Mm-mm," Amanda replied with a shake of her head. "I ruined a perfectly good outfit on this case."

"Well, if it were up to me, you wouldn't need that many outfits anyway. Maybe just a sexy nightgown once in a while."

"No sexy nightgowns, not yet anyway. But you still owe me, Stetson." She tugged on his arms to pull her back down to him as she nipped at his neck.

Lee groaned in delight at her lips on his skin as he grabbed her hips and sheathed himself in her, gazing down at her. "How's this?" He then pushed himself into her as he raised one of her legs over his hip.

"Oh! Good start." She then clutched his shoulders and locked both of her legs on bottom using them to bring him closer.

"Yes," Lee hissed as he began to drive into her, following her lead, her reactions to their lovemaking, leading them both where they wanted to go. He couldn't help crying out her name as he moved closer and closer to the edge with each thrust of his hips, her cries matching his as they soon found themselves sputtering and gasping for breath together, collapsing in a heap on the mat.

"Wow, that was...some...lesson," Amanda panted through her still-rapid breathing.

"Yeah," Lee said with a cheeky grin. "But I think we're going to have to keep it up until you get it right. You wouldn't last two seconds with another grabber."

"Or maybe I just need a different teacher," Amanda fired back.

"Absolutely not. I got you into this business. It's up to me to teach you things." As the words were out of his mouth, he instantly realized how wrong they were. He wasn't teaching her. She'd been teaching him from the start of their partnership. "So, let's get back to it." He stood, reached for her hand, pulled her to her feet and as they began to get dressed again, he couldn't help wondering just what else she might have to teach him.


	46. Resetting the Search Grid

Author's Note: So, for this one, I decided to have Lee and Amanda properly christen the Q Bureau, which fit perfectly into the late night scene when Amanda gets Lee on the phone when trying to reach Harry.

**Chapter 46-Resetting the Search Grid**

"Tail of the Dancing Weasel"

"Come on, Harry," Amanda hissed into the phone, praying that he'd answer. When the phone was answered, she was surprised to hear not Harry's but Lee's voice. "Lee, what are you doing there?"

"Wait, Amanda, hold on, hold on. I'm getting some feedback here," Lee replied as he began to examine the recorder attached to the phone.

Before he could get much further, he heard Amanda saying awkwardly, "Uh, Look, I'll see you tomorrow," then the line went dead.

Amanda sat on her couch in her cotton nightgown, pondering what had just happened. Why would Lee be at Harry's when he'd already been there during the day and knew he wasn't there? She bit down on her lower lip as she thought back to how sad, how distraught Lee had sounded when talking about Harry, his comment about him not being anywhere breaking her heart. Had he gone back there looking for him again or was he maybe looking for clues as to his whereabouts? No, she decided. He would have already done that before leaving the scene after Crawford's attack on him. That's why he was delayed in getting back to the office, but then why and how was he answering Harry's private phone line?

The office? That thought got her thinking. She and Francine had been working in the office for a while before Lee had returned and they'd been rooting through the mess that Crawford and left behind. The mess? She remembered the first time Lee had left her alone there and how there was a tape recorder that had switched on when a specific line of the phone rang. She hadn't had much time to think about it because Crawford had burst in on her, but now it got her wondering leading her to think about the weird "Kolinsky" calls when the recorder setup in the Q Bureau kicked on and a thought struck her. She wanted to try an experiment with the phone line to prove her theory. She hurried to her foyer, reached for her purse, dug her car keys out of it and pulled her coat on over her nightgown.

"What the-" Lee shook his head after hanging up the phone after Amanda had abruptly disconnected wondering once again why she was acting so weird lately. He knew she had feelings for him, but was she resorting to stalking him now? She'd followed him all day and now this weird phone call. Granted, she'd saved his skin, but still what was up with her? He'd asked her earlier why she'd been sticking to him like glue and had even given her his best roguish smile when asking her for an explanation, hinting that it might have something to do with all the private time they'd spent together, but she'd refused to give him an answer. This was not like Amanda. Yes, she lied to her mother to protect the agency's cover, but she never lied to him Did she?

With another shake of his head, he glanced at the phone setup thinking about the events of the day, the strange calls asking for Kolinsky and the even stranger call from Amanda. Why had she been surprised to hear his voice and why has she asked what he was doing there. Hadn't she been calling for him? He leaned his head on his hands and sighed in frustration. He'd thought, probably with a little more hope in his heart than he should have, that she'd been calling for him, calling to tell him what was really going on with her, but remembering how startled she'd sounded when he'd answered the phone, he knew that wasn't true.

He rewound the tape and began to listen to the recordings on it, startled to hear a voice that he was sure was Harry's on the tape answering to the name "Kolinsky," followed by the call Francine had taken and then his own voice answered by Amanda's from just a few minutes ago. He rewound and listened again and tried to put the pieces together, replaying them over and over again, now certain that the Kolinsky voice was Harry's. It seemed Crawford had been monitoring Harry's phone line. What the hell was going on? Had Amanda been calling for Harry and not him? However, if that were true, how would she even know Harry? Maybe that's why she had suddenly started asking about him this morning. He leaned back in his chair as he thought about it, the movement knocking his discarded tie onto the floor.

Just as he was sitting back up, tie in hand, the object of his obsessive thoughts walked in and at seeing him, quickly tried to back out the door. "Hold it," Lee snapped as he tossed the wayward tie onto the desk, leapt from his chair, catching up to her quickly just before she made it to the outer door, gripping her arm firmly and pulling her back down the hall with him into the Q Bureau.

"Lee, what are you doing," Amanda protested as Lee closed the door behind them finally managing to free her arm from his grasp.

"That's the same question I have for you. What exactly was that phone call about and what exactly are you doing her in the middle of the night?"

"What are _you_ doing here in the middle of the night?" Amanda fired back.

"Oh, no, don't you start that again. We had this conversation earlier over that damned baseball you lobbed through Harry's window." He knew her evasion tactics all too well by now.

"That was Harry's window?" Amanda questioned innocently.

"Don't, Amanda. Don't try that innocent act with me. That may fool your mother, but not me. I know you too well and I know that _you know_ damn well that was Harry's window, just like I know that you called Harry's number tonight when you got me on the phone in here!"

"In here? Have you been here all this time? You know, that's really not healthy. You oughtta' go home and get some rest."

"Oh, look who's talking," Lee retorted as he pulled at the lapels of her coat to further reveal her nightgown peeking out of it. "And don't try to change the subject on me again. I wanna' know what you're up to and I wanna' know now!"

"Up to? Me? I'm not up to anything. I was just concerned when I realized you were still here this late and I came here to try to talk some sense into you."

"Then why'd you try to run and if you're so damn concerned about me, why'd you hang up on me?"

Amanda thought fast and answered, "Well, I...uh...I, you know, felt bad about our fight today and I was calling to apologize, so I called to see if you were still here, which I figured you would be because I know how you are when you sink your teeth into something. You're like a pit bull with a death grip and I...got a little worried because it's awfully late and I decided to come here to make you listen to reason and I thought that while I was at it, it would be better to apologize in person." She then placed her hands soothingly on the lapels of his shirt to rest on his chest, trying to soothe the savage beast within. She then added in her conciliatory tone, "I mean, I really do owe you an apology for ignoring your explicit instructions not to follow you."

"An apology? An apology, Amanda?" Lee answered incredulously as he stepped back from her, trying to cool his reaction to her touch, not wanting to let her distract him the way she was so good at doing. "You owe me a hell of a lot more than an apology. What you owe me is an explanation. A real one, this time." As Amanda started to open her mouth, he added. "And don't you start that thing you do."

"That thing I do?"

"Yes, that thing! That thing where you try to babble me to death until I get so confused that I forget what I was ever mad about to start with."

"Oh, now, Lee, I would never try to babble you to death, but you know me, I'm a motor-mouth. You know, my mother always said that I had the gift of gab and that I was a natural born-chatterbox. I sometimes just can't help myself, especially when I get nervous, you know." Lee groaned at Amanda beginning yet another long-winded ramble. "You know, you just never know what might come out of my mouth nex-" Her words were cut off by Lee grabbing her wrists forcefully and his mouth descending on hers in a crushing kiss.

Lee smiled inwardly at Amanda's instant response as she gripped his shoulders tightly, making a mental note that this was one sure-fire way to shut her up. As she moaned against him, he thought, _maybe not, _but at least this was for a different reason. He'd learned over the past two years that she was just as vocal during sex as she was everywhere else. At least in this instance, it would be something that they would both enjoy, instead of her maddening rambling driving him to want to down the entire contents of his liquor cabinet. He lowered his hands to her waist and guided her backward toward the couch on the opposite side of the room,, groaning in frustration as he realized it was still covered in boxes and files. He broke their kiss long enough to sweep the mess aside knocking most of it into the floor as he untied the belt of her coat. "It's a little warm for this, isn't it?" he said in a low voice as he pushed her coat to the floor.

"Oh, yes, I'm suddenly feeling very warm," Amanda replied seductively as she yanked the tails of his shirt from his pants and quickly undid all the buttons of his shirt, glad that he'd already had the sleeves rolled up so she didn't have to mess with the cuffs. His shirt joined her coat on the floor while Lee reached for the hem of her gown, roughly yanking it up, Amanda raising her arms over her head to facilitate its removal.

"You know, I'm thinking that I'm starting to like these cotton gowns," Lee said as he balled it up and tossed it across the room, "Easier to remove than most of the sexy ones."

"You just haven't seen the right kind of sexy lingerie yet," Amanda replied in a husky voice as she began to trail kisses down his chest while she worked on freeing him from his pants, while he in turn slipped his hand inside her panties to caress her.

"Ohhhh," Lee groaned in delight as Amanda's nimble fingers closed around his shaft and began stroking him exasperatingly slowly. He stepped out of his dress shoes, kicked the pants and boxers now pooled around his ankles aside, reached for the satin panties resting on her hips, yanking them down, and then pushed her back on to the couch her back bowed against the arm as he plunged into her hard.

"Lee," she squealed at the feeling of his hard length insider her. She had not time to adjust before he was pulling back and driving into her again harder than before.

"Manda," he growled as the thoughts of how maddening, infuriating, and confounding she could be, yet also soft, yielding, giving and loving all at the same time, Every time that he thought he'd figure out they mystery that was Amanda King, he found himself re-evaluating everything he thought he knew. This, though, the way the completed each other, this was one area where nothing was confusing, no gray areas, just the two of them fulfilling each other's needs with need for verbal communication. Their bodies, their sighs, moans and groans of pleasure, the way they responded to each other said more than any words could. Feeling himself about to lose control and that she wasn't, he slowed his movements a bit as he slipped one hand between them to caress her, eliciting another loud series of moans from her. "Yes, Amanda," He rasped. "Yes, Amanda, come on, let go."

"LEE!' Amanda screeched as her climax ripped through her, just as Lee picked up the pace and once again began pumping into her hard and fast. She clung tightly to him as he called out her name, both of them panting and sweating, quaking together as they rode out the wave of their mutual pleasure together.

"'Manda," Lee whispered softly through his heavy breathing. "I-" He broke off, turned his head toward the door and abruptly pulled away from him.

"What is it?" Amanda asked as she sat up. "Don't tell me you're still mad at me after that."

"Shh," Lee said listening hard, as he hurriedly yanked his underwear and pants back on and tossed her nightgown at her. "Get dressed. Someone's coming up the stairs.

Amanda quickly pulled her gown back over her head and searched frantically for her underwear. Not finding them and hearing the footsteps growing closer, she reached for her coat, slipped into it. She had just cinched the belt on it as Lee finished buttoning his shirt.

"Come here," Lee said scooping up a handful of files, tossing a couple her direction as he pulled her to a sitting position on the couch beside him. Lee and Amanda had just settled in to making a good shoe of perusing the files when Francine entered the room.

Francine surveyed the office. At seeing the tossed-aside boxes and files, raised an eyebrow, eyed the pair and said, "This place looks worse than when I left and you ruined the search grid I worked so hard to set."

"So, we'll reset it. It's not as bad as it looks, Francine," Lee responded. "We just moved the stuff off the couch so we could be more comfortable. What are you doing here this late anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep, so I thought since you shuffled me out of here earlier before all the much-needed work was done, I'd take another crack at it. You too?" She gestured to the neck of Amanda's nightgown showing above the collar of her coat.

"Yeah, but you know, I really should be going. I should try to get some sleep since my boys will be up at the crack of dawn," Amanda answered as she rose from the sofa, tossed the files in her hands in it, picked up her fallen purse and hurried out the door.

"Well, what was that all about?"Francine asked after Amanda's abrupt departure.

"What? You think I have the inside track on how Amanda's mind works? I don't think anyone is that lucky." He paused for a moment. "You wanna' help, knock yourself out. You might start with the boxes." Lee nodded toward the boxes that he'd knocked off the couch.

"Sure," Francine sighed as she picked up one of the boxes and set in on the floor in front of the couch as she plopped down into the seat that Amanda had just vacated, peering into the box. "Ugh," she said with a grimace shrinking back from the box.

"What is it?" Lee queried as he looked over.

"See for yourself," Francine replied with a gesture at the box.

Lee laughed as he saw the pair of white satin-and-lace panties lying atop the other contents of the box. "Maybe Crawford had more going on here than just espionage."

"Eww" Francine shuddered and then jumped up in alarm as a thought struck her, frowning. "You know, I'm thinking we should have that couch steam-cleaned and maybe I don't know...sanitized or something. And you know, I'm suddenly thinking that I should follow Amanda's cue and just go home and get some sleep."

Lee laughed even harder as he watched Francine's rapid departure, wondering just how she'd react if she knew the underwear that had set her off were not left behind by Crawford. He bent to pick them up, walked to his new desk where his suit jacket was draped over the back of his desk chair. As he held them up by one side, he shook his head in amusement at what a contradiction Amanda was, sedate cotton granny gowns, with sexy underwear underneath. He shook his head, shoved them into his coat pocket intending to give them back to her the next time he saw her. He reached for his tie and stuck it in there as well before pulling it on, deciding he'd go home to shower and change clothes before making another trip to the State Department to look at Harry's files. As he reached the door, he took a backward glance at the defiled sofa, smiling as he wondered if he'd ever fully unravel the mystery surrounding the woman who'd taken over his life and made it better.


	47. Days of Wine and Roses

**Chapter 47-Days of Wine and Roses**

"We're Off to See the Wizard"

As she and Amanda left the Q Bureau, Lee's black books in hand, Francine let out a little snort of disdain as she thumbed through hers.

"What, Francine," Amanda inquired as they walked down the hall together.

"Look, at this one," Francine answered as she pointed to the name in the book that had caught her attention, "Bambi Bonner. Now I ask you, who names their daughter Bambi? They might as well have named her Bimbo." She flipped another couple of pages and look at this, "Candi, Cindi," she flipped some more, "Danni, Deedee." She rolled her eyes and snapped the book shut. "I'm telling you, Lee's thing for flaky, vapid women just astounds me."

"Yeah, but when was the last time that Lee actually _called_ any of these women?"Amanda replied wanting desperately to have faith in Lee and the looks she'd seen in his eyes when they were alone. "I mean, you heard him earlier saying it might take some time. Maybe, he meant that because he had to gather these up because he hadn't used them in a while."

Francine stopped walking, stepping in front of Amanda to halt her movement too, fixed her with her patented arched eyebrow, "Talk about flaky women," She sniped.

"Excuse me," Amanda questioned with a perturbed look. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, come on, Amanda, I know you and Lee have had this little thing going on. Now, I admit that I don't know all the details, but if you're naive enough to think for one second that you're going to get him to settle down and move to Suburbia with you, you might as well start calling yourself "Mandi" and add your name to this book."

"You know what, Francine? We have a job to do and I think we should just get this done," Amanda changed the subject and brushed past Francine, but she couldn't help thinking that maybe Francine was right. Maybe she _was _being naive.

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Lee let out a deep sigh as she got into his car, having hurriedly darted out of Amanda's back yard to avoid being seen by her mother. As he closed the door, he leaned his head against the steering wheel, irritated by yet another interruption of his time with Amanda. This time was different though. This wasn't a romantic moment being interrupted; it was a... Well, he didn't know what it was exactly. He only knew that he desperately needed his best friend, needed to share things with her, to get her always objective and intuitive perspective, needed to know that he wasn't going completely around the bend. "Dorothy," He whispered as he sat up and stared out onto Maplewood Drive.

He reached into his pocket for the photograph that he'd brought with him only to find it wasn't there. _Right, _he thought remembering that Amanda had still been holding it when he'd gone flying out of her yard again. He shook his head as he thought about how many times he'd done that. He glanced at the house and wondered what she must be thinking of him right now? Surely, she'd flipped it over by now and seen Dorothy's words to him on the back, their own private little joke and she'd have figured out in that that he'd be crazy head over heels in love with Dorothy.

Or maybe not. He'd seen the look on her face when he'd told her and Francine that he had four black books. That expression on her face in that moment showed of shock, hurt and a even little disgust. How could he blame her? He was a little disgusted with himself over the way he'd been in the past, how he'd dated so many different types of women just for the variety, just as easily as someone else might sample a little bit of everything at a buffet. He wondered if she was thinking in that moment that he'd fooled around with all of those women. He hoped not. Yes, he'd slept with more women than he probably should have, most nights he spent sleeping alone and he hadn't been with anyone but her in two years. He wondered if she knew that. He decided that he had to let her know.

As she examined the photo that Lee had left behind, Amanda sighed in frustration for what felt like the millionth time at her mother's impeccable timing. She had a feeling that Lee was finally on the brink of sharing, _really_ sharing with her what had been bothering him all day. He'd been spooked on the street as if he'd seen a ghost, then later, she and Francine had both heard him argue with Paul Barnes about someone named Dorothy and how special she was, Paul's flip reply being, "Aren't they all." She shuddered a little at that, just as she had at finding that Lee had four black books. He'd told her a year ago that he hadn't really been with anyone except for her since their first time, but she wondered if that still held true. Were the four black books still being used or were they a thing of the past?

"Speaking of the past," Amanda said softly as she stared down again at the inscription on the back of the photo. "_Oz never had it so good_, _Love Dorothy,_ "She read. She sighed again as she wondered just who Dorothy had been to him. She flipped the photo back over and saw Lee's bright smiling face in it and couldn't help wonder if he'd been in love with this Dorothy. He'd been about to tell her about her, she was sure of it, but now the moment was gone, thanks to her mother. Her thoughts were whirling. Was this the reason that Lee had become defensive two years ago when she asked him how he got the codename, Scarecrow? It would make sense, Dorothy, Scarecrow, and Paul Barnes referring to himself as The Wizard.

"Is the coast clear?" Lee whispered from behind her startling her.

"Don't do that," Amanda hissed and then took a deep breath and asked, "What are you doing? I thought you left."

"I was going to, but then I...Um..." He sighed running a hand through his hair then took her hand and led her to the gazebo in her yard. "I came here for a reason."

"Dorothy," Amanda nodded.

"More than that, Amanda," Lee answered as he sat down on the bench and pulled her to sit with him before turning toward her, taking the photo from her hands, tucking it back into his pocket, before taking both of her hands in his and continuing. "I...Um...I wanted to explain...about the books, I mean."

"Y-y-you don't have to explain. I...um...I mean, I know that you like romancing women."

"_Liked_, Amanda. Past tense." He looked down for a moment at their joined hands, squeezing hers affectionately, and then looked back up at her to fix her with an intent gaze. "These days, there's only one woman that I'm interest in romancing. The books, the women in them...they..."

"Lee, you don't hav-"Amanda began to protest.

"Yes, I do," Lee cut her off. I need you to know that not all of these women were women that I slept with or even women that I dated. Some, I went on one date with, some I never dated. Some are just phone numbers that women gave me that I never called. Many of them, in fact. This...job...I-I meet a lot of people, most of whom never even know who I really am because I've played so many different covers over the years. Some of the women in the books are friends...well, acquaintances really, some are contacts, some I don't even think I could put a face with a name and number. It's just that I used to have this habit of every time I'd have a new woman give me her number, I'd put it in the book with the little notes just so that if I ever met them again, I wouldn't forget what lies I told them since I can't share with anyone outside the agency who I am."

Amanda nodded. "I think I understand," she said with a warm smile. As the thought back to the past couple of years, she felt she could relate, as she'd already had to use fake identities numerous times to the point that sometimes when the cover assignments were over, it would sound strange to her to hear someone call her Amanda King again. Lee had a ten-year head start on her, so she couldn't even imagine how it must feel for him, how lonely it must have been for him over the years not being able to be truly open with whomever he was seeing. She wondered if that wasn't why most of his relationships had been short-lived.

"Thanks."

Lee beamed at her graciousness and the fact that with her, he could finally be with someone who understands. He leaned in and his lips had just barely grazed hers when they were interrupted again by Dotty West's voice calling out, "Amanda! Are you still out here?"

"Yes, Mother!' Amanda called back as she held up a finger to Lee to keep him where he was while she hurried out of the gazebo, "Just still out here practicing my Russian." She trotted toward her mother to stop her from getting any closer to the gazebo and catching Lee there.

"Russian, huh?" Dotty said skeptically as she tried to peer around Amanda, hoping to spot that mystery man that she suspected was hiding somewhere in the shadows, "And this has nothing to do with the fact that that silver car is parked down the street again?"

"What silver car?" Amanda hedged as she took her mother's arm and steered her toward the back door. "You know, it's getting awfully late. We should get inside and get ready for bed."

"It seems to me that was what you were already doing," Dotty fired back as they walked into the house together.

Lee chuckled at Dotty's statement with a shake of his head as he crept back out of the yard. He took one last glance at the house, hoping that one day; he might be able to walk in through the front door instead of lurking outside. Those thoughts plagued him all the way home.

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"Take Amanda home and then get some sleep! That's an order!' Billy bellowed.

Lee nodded in resignation, turned to Amanda, held out his hand to her, which she clasped instantly as they left Billy's office together.

Francine who had watched this interaction, said to Billy, "Don't you think he's getting too involved in this?"

"Well, what do you expect? He was part of the Oz Network very early on in his career and watched one of his teammates get gunned down right in front of him," Billy countered.

"Oh, Come on, Billy," Francine scoffed. "I think we both know by now that Dorothy was more than just a teammate to him. If you want my opinion..." Billy gave her a look, but this didn't deter her. "If you want my opinion, I think he's afraid that with the attack on Amanda today, he's scared of seeing history repeating itself."

"I don't know what you mean," Billy said evasively as he turned from her and slid behind his desk.

"Don't give me that. You know and I know that Lee's developed this unhealthy personal attachment to Amanda and she to him."

"Why is it unhealthy?" Billy fixed her with a stern look. "Did you ever think that this might just be what both of them need?"

"I...Uh..." She sighed realizing she didn't have an answer for that.

As they reached the parking garage and Lee opened the passenger door of his 'vette for Amanda, he was stopped by her hand on his arm. He glanced at her and seeing the apprehensive look her eyes, asked worriedly, "You're still shaken up, aren't you?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I...um...I know that Billy told you to take me home, but I...I don't think I can face my mother right now. She'd now instantly that something's wrong and there's no way that I could ever explain to her why. Right now, I really need to be with someone who understands." She raised her hand to lightly caress his face, smiling a little when he took that hand and placed a tender kiss to her palm.

"I know what you mean." Lee slid his free hand to her waist, pulling her closer and kissing her the way he'd wanted to the night before, delighted when Amanda responded by snaking her arm around his neck to pull him in deeper as she opened her mouth beneath his., her tongue daring out to meet his.

"Mmm," Amanda sighed against Lee as they exploration of each other continued, the anxiety she felt at her near-death experience fading at Lee's touch, her desire to feel alive overtaking her fear and Lee made her feel more alive than she ever had been. She pulled back breathlessly and panted, "Lee...Need..." When she couldn't spit the right words out, she decided to demonstrate by running her hand up his inseam finally resting in on the bulge that had started to form in his pants.

"No, Amanda," Lee shook his head removing her hand and clasping it tightly in his. "Not like this. I won't take advantage of you in that way. Not when you're vulnerable."

"It's not taking advantage, not if it's what I want. I just need to feel..." she pressed herself against him backing him up against the side of his car, nipping at the tender skin just below his ear as she pulled her hand from his and cupped him again.

"Oh, Amanda, you're not playing fair," Lee groaned.

She pulled back slightly and said, "Well, don't they say all's fair in love and war?" She then unzipped his pants and slipped her hand inside.

"God," Lee growled at her touch and found he couldn't argue with her logic, but he couldn't help but wonder, was this love or was this war? It seemed that every time they began to get closer, they would have a fight that would distance them from each other again, just like the argument they'd have yesterday about her walking in on a murder. He decided in that moment that he just didn't care and he flipped her around, pinning her to the door of his car as he ran his hands up under her skirt, devouring her mouth as he did so, delighting in her cries of pleasure. He moaned into her mouth as she took his manhood in her hand, stroking him brazenly. With a shudder, he slid her panties aside and gently pushed into her, causing them to break their heated kiss as they both cried out. The gentleness was not to last as Amanda gripped his hips tightly.

Lee lifted her legs up onto his hips and braced her against the car, using it as leverage to drive into her, the look in her eyes telling her that she needed this every bit as much as he did. All the memories of losing Dorothy and then nearly losing Amanda today running through his mind making him want to feel for at least a moment that there was still life in both him and Amanda. Hearing her crying out his name as she tightened around him brought him to his release much faster than he ever would have thought possible. "Manda," he whispered as he trembled against her, completely spent. "I...I.."

"Shh," Amanda shushed him with a finger to his lips. "Don't." She didn't want to hear him apologizing for giving her exactly what she'd wanted in the moment. She just wanted to savor the moment.

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Once the case was wrapped up, Amanda smiled at Lee in delight at the roses he'd presented her, leaned in to kiss him tenderly and her smile only increased at seeing him beaming back at her, a blush creeping into his cheeks. What a mystery this man was. He could be so fiery and passionate, but yet a tiny little kiss could make him blush. She wondered if it had more to do with his finally confessing to her the truth about his heartbreak of the past or if it had to do with the fact that he'd just given her roses as a gift after telling her that they made him sick after what had happened to the first woman he'd ever loved. She had a feeling that she'd never figure him out completely, but she was sure going to enjoy trying.


	48. Don't Get Up Until I Turn Off the Light

Author's Note: For the scene with Amanda's thoughts of her date with Alan, part of this comes from an unfilmed scene in the script in which Amanda accompanies Alan to his hotel room, but then makes a hasty escape when things begin getting too close for her comfort. The interaction between Francine and Amanda also comes from the original script as well, so can't take credit for it either. I just added a few little tidbits of my own. On an additional note, for the love scene in this one, I decided to extend the late night scene in Amanda's bedroom just a little. I also decided to lift my "bed ban" a little earlier than I'd planned on since this was the best place to fill in a love scene. This one turned out to be almost twice as long as the normal chapters, but there was so much that I wanted to include in it. Hope you enjoy!

**Chapter 48-Don't Get Up Until I Turn the Light Off**

"A Lovely Little Affair"

Lee found himself becoming more irritated and more confused by the minute as Amanda rambled on, her hands flailing wildly. He finally held up his own hands and said abruptly, "Stop." Once Amanda stopped chattering, he asked in a gentler tone, "What are you talking about? Chamberlain?" After Amanda explained that she'd made contact with the subject of her surveillance and that she'd made up a story about who she really was and that the man had asked her to dinner, he replied, "Dinner?" a little flare of jealousy coursing through him, but he knew that this might just be what the agency needed.

"I'm sorry," Amanda apologized as she hung her head.

"Fabulous!" Lee exclaimed.

Amanda's head shot up as she stared at him warily. She could have sworn that she'd heard just a touch of jealousy in his tone a moment ago. "I thought you told me to keep my distance." She was more confused than ever. She felt like she was on a constant rollercoaster of emotions when it came to Lee. Did he not care that she was talking about going on a date with another man? She listened politely while he explained his reasoning and nodded in understanding when it hit her that he was just being the practical agent.

Once Amanda agreed to go to dinner with Chamberlain to gain more information from the man, Lee couldn't resist a little jibe. "Is he as stuffy as he looks?" He asked with a hopeful smile on his face. "You know...head in the clouds...artistic type?"

_There's that jealousy again, _Amanda thought as she smiled back. "Dull as a stick," Amanda reassured Lee.

Lee smirked at Amanda's response and replied gleefully, "Good," as he exited the room.

As Amanda exited behind him, she was lost in her thoughts of the idea of accepting a date with Alan and just how far she should take things for the sake of the job. She reflected back on her coffee date with him and how when she'd reached to shake his hand, he'd taken it a little further, clasping both of her hands in his the way that Lee often did. She unconsciously clasped her hands together as she thought about it, her mind whirling as she had realized in that one small gesture he had told her without words that he was looking to pursue a relationship with her. She was so focused on that, that as she was making her way through the bullpen, she failed to notice Francine trailing behind her until she'd caught up with her and asked archly, "So, how's life in the fast lane?"

Amanda paused for a best and simply replied with a noncommittal shrug, "Interesting."

"Interesting," Francine repeated incredulously. "Amanda, Alan Chamberlain is a delicious hunk of masculinity who personifies the very soul of the Italian art experience! You might as well call Fettuccine Alfredo, 'yummy'."

Amanda looked at her co-worker, biting down on her lower lip, wondering if she should ask her the question that was on her mind. Normally when she had a question about how she should behave on an undercover assignment, she'd ask Lee, but in this situation, she just couldn't, not with the history they shared. Francine, on the other hand had experience with just this kind of thing and knowing her the way she did, she knew that she'd give her an honest answer. She took a deep breath and began. "Francine, if you're through correcting my grammar, I do have a serious question..."

"Professional?" Francine gave her a quizzical look.

"Personal, too." Amanda paused for a beat before continuing unable to believe that she was about to do this. "What do you do when you're on a case and you're not sure where the case ends and your own life begins?"

Francine looked at Amanda, surprise evident on her face. "Go with the flow." When Amanda gave her a pained look and fidgeted with her hands nervously, Francine got her meaning. "You and Alan...? Amanda!"

"It's nothing... yet," Amanda quickly replied, not wanting Francine to get the wrong impression. "It's just confusing. I didn't plan any of this...we just sort of met, totally by accident," she took a deep breath. "Anyway, he asked me to dinner."

"You don't need my advice," Francine responded a little tartly, knowing that she and Amanda would react to this type of thing completely differently.

"It's all part of my cover."

Francine at seeing the seriousness of Amanda's concern dropped the jesting manner and gave her the most honest answer that she could. "It's a judgment call. You probably did the right thing, but be careful. Don't get in the water if you don't know how to swim." She gave Amanda her patented arched eyebrow.

"I know all about _swimming_," Amanda retorted feeling a little insulted by Francine's comment.

"Not in this end of the pool," Francine countered, walking away, leaving Amanda alone with her tortured thoughts.

Amanda's worries were only made worse by her family's reactions that evening.

"Way to go, Mom!' Jamie said exuberantly as his mother entered the room dressed to the nines.

"Sweetheart, that is beautiful," Dotty gushed as she examined her daughter's appearance, "Is that a new dress?"

Amanda stammered nervously, but thankfully was spared answering by her older son's excited, "Who is your date?"

"I don't have a date, Sweetheart," Amanda explained. "It's business."

"That's business?"Jamie questioned wide-eyed just as the doorbell rang.

"Could you get the door for me?" As Phillip took off for the door, she said, "Thank you," and then turned to her mother. "Mother, I may be a little late tonight."

"Oh, that's all right. I'll wait up," Dotty replied pointedly. She wondered if her "business dinner" was with the man she'd seen so often in the shadows, if this meant that they were finally ready to have a relationship that was out in the open or if this was someone new which would mean her daughter was finally ready to let go of the co-worker who'd captured so much of her attention. Either way, she found herself more hopeful than she'd been in a long time for her daughter's future. As Phillip returned with a corsage, she couldn't resist looking over her daughter's shoulder at the attached card. She smiled knowingly at Amanda. "Nice business card, Dear," she quipped.

Amanda lay awake for a long time that night with her mind reeling after dodging her mother's inquiries about what she thought was a real date. She sighed as she rolled over onto her stomach, punching her pillow in frustration. How could she explain to her mother that she was just using the man because he had a high-level security clearance and it was her job to make certain that he wasn't abusing it? She flipped back over again, staring at the ceiling. More importantly, how could she explain to Lee that she'd allowed her "date" with Alan to go farther than she'd intended it to, for just a brief moment, giving in to his kisses. She lightly brushed her fingers over her lips as she reflected back on it. His kisses had been gentle, expressive and while they were nice, they were not the same as the explosive kisses she'd shared with Lee.

On the plus side, with Alan there was no hesitation. They'd walked and he'd talked about his travels as he lightly held her hand in his own, she had thought about how nice it was to spend time with a man who talked about himself openly. She'd asked in the course of the conversation what he was currently working on and he'd invited her back to his hotel room to show her. She'd hesitated for a moment, but then thought that she might learn something that would help her in her assignment. Once there after only a few minutes of him talking about the parchment paper and calligraphy pens he had in his room, he'd told her he didn't want to talk about his work anymore, then he'd kissed her again, only this time his kisses had been more insistent hinting that he wanted more. She'd abruptly pulled back, stammered an apology and headed for the door. He'd then offered an apology of his own for being too presumptuous then had asked if there were someone else. She'd given him the only answer she could, that yes, there was someone else. He had responded by telling her how lucky the other man was and had asked her on a breakfast date, teasing her with, "For old time's sake." She'd accepted knowing that her job wasn't done yet.

She'd driven home, her emotions in turmoil, only to find that her mother in an attempt to wait up for her had fallen asleep on the couch with an open book on her chest. She'd felt obligated to wake her so she could go up to her own room and be more comfortable and instantly wished that she handed once her mother had started grilling her about her date. She'd tried desperately to play it off as if it didn't mean anything, not wanting to get her mother's hopes up that she was going to have any future with Alan. The only man she wanted a future with was the one that she was sure she could never have in that way.

Her thoughts of Lee and the raging desire she felt for him, her reflections of all the times they'd been intimate kept her mind awake long past the point of common sense. Her restless thoughts were unable to block out the memories of his searing touch and burning kisses. She soon found her hands roaming her own body as she closed her eyes and imagined that it were his hands touching her as she slipped one hand inside her panties, stroking herself the way that he would, the way she felt about him running through her mind as she wished he were here with her. She bit down on her lower lip to keep from crying out and awakening her mother as she reached her peak, her body trembling, her breathing erratic.

Having given herself the release that she so desperately needed, Amanda had finally fallen asleep just out of sheer exhaustion, but hadn't been asleep for long when a noise awoke her. Half-asleep and disoriented, eyes still closed, she picked up the phone and said, "Hello?" When the noise came again, she realized that it was someone pounding on her window. She bolted upright in bed as the knocking continued followed by Lee's voice calling her name. Startled by his presence outside her window when she'd just been wishing he were there, she hissed, "What?"

"It's me," Lee answered back. "Let me in."

Amanda sighed, threw the covers back and padded to the window to let him in, then quickly climbed back into bed, pulling the covers back over her lap.

"How did everything go with Chamberlain, huh?" Lee asked her.

Amanda shushed him, slid out of her bed long enough to close the partially open door to her bedroom and turned the light on before climbing back into bed. As she explained to Lee that everything went fine, she felt incredibly guilty at the way things had gone, as if she'd been unfaithful to him.

"Anything unusual happen?" Lee inquired, dying to know exactly how far she'd taken her cover.

Amanda hesitated as she once again ran her fingers over her lips, wondering if she should be honest with Lee and then upon thinking about how he could get with his fits of jealousy, opted against it and answered, "No, nothing worth mentioning." What was the point of telling him about her almost-affair with Alan when she'd been thinking about nothing but the man in front of her during her date with him and afterward and hadn't she just been fantasizing about Lee while she was... She shook her head to pay attention to what Lee was trying to tell her.

As Lee explained why he was there and that he wanted her to back off for her own safety, she offered him an alternate solution of having him and Francine at the restaurant to keep an eye on things. He reluctantly accepted that as logical, but with a warning finger pointed at her, admonished, "You be damn sure you see us before you walk in that place."

"I will," Amanda agreed.

"It's a deal," Lee said reaching out to shake her hand.

"It's a deal," Amanda repeated as they shook hands.

The tension in the room mounted as they locked eyes with one another, their business-like handshake, suddenly no longer about business as it sent a jolt through both of them. Lee couldn't help glancing at the open neck of Amanda's nightgown, staring for a moment as he realized for the first time that it was not her normal cotton one. It was satin, though in the same style of the cotton ones she usually wore.

At catching Lee staring, Amanda self-consciously raised her free hand to cover the exposed skin, suddenly feeling very nervous with him sitting on her bed with her as she thought about how easy it would be for her to invite him into it, opening a can of worms that she wasn't sure either was ready to have opened.

Lee was the first to break the awkward silence, "Well, I guess that's it then," Lee said hoping that she'd argue with him and ask him to stay. When she nodded, he slid his hand out of hers, lightly skimming his fingers along hers as he let go, feeling disappointment flooding through him. "''Til...uh..." He found he could no longer keep his eye contact with her as he knew the disappointment must be evident on his face, He turned from her and finished with, "'Til breakfast." He took a moment to compose himself, turned back to her. "You be careful now."

Amanda nodded and replied, "Be careful going down the trellis."

Lee shifted nervously and gave her an awkward half-smile. "Oh...Heh...Down the trellis." He sighed as he thought that just once he'd like to be able to come and go through the front door. He gazed at her for another moment before saying, "I better go," fixing her with a look that said leaving was the last thing on his mind.

"Yeah, you better go," Amanda agreed but as he started to get up, she stopped him. When he looked at her hopefully, she told him, "Please don't get up until I turn the light off."

Lee nodded once again feeling disappointed, having thought for just a moment that when she's stopped him, she might ask him to stay. Who was he kidding though? That would never happen with her mother and kids in the house when they didn't even know that he existed. As they walked toward the window together and Amanda braced her arms against his back to help him begin to exit through the window, he turned back to her and said firmly, "No, not yet." Without giving her a chance to respond, he pulled her tightly to him, enveloping her in his arms and kissed her hard, demanding entrance to her mouth. When she readily acquiesced, he groaned low in his throat as the fire that stirred within him.

Amanda pulled back from his kiss and hissed, "Shhh. My mother's asleep in the next room."

"We'll be quiet," he whispered back as he captured her lips again while his hands slid to her bottom, lifting her up to straddle him as he walked them both back to her bed, lowering her to it as he stripped off his jacket and his tie, dropping them to the floor, then stepping out of his shoes. He looked down at her for a moment for any sign of hesitation and at seeing none; he joined her in bed and wrapped his arms around her, cradling her to him as they began to kiss again while their hands explored one another lying on their sides facing one another.

Amanda ran her hands down Lee's chest toward his stomach, then to his belt while he slid his up her thigh, tugging at the hem of her nightgown in an attempt to pull it over her head. They broke their kiss and both chuckled softly at realizing they were at cross purposes, neither able to strip the other of the garments between them when they had their hands moving in opposite directions. "Let me," Amanda whispered as she sat up long enough to pull her nightgown over her head. She then pushed Lee gently onto his back and resumed her task of freeing him from his pants, her fingers barely grazing his shaft as she worked to slide them down his legs.

'Mmm," Lee whimpered softly at the fleeting touch of her hand. Once his pants and his boxers had been dropped to the floor, he grasped Amanda's hips, hooking his fingers into the sides of her panties to pull them down and off. He then sat up and pulled her into his lap astride him, clasping the back of her head with one hand to pull her mouth down to meet his, he probed her mouth with his tongue while his other hand travelled down her back to cup her bottom.

Amanda whimpered at the sensations that were flooding through her as she braced one hand on Lee's shoulders and began to rock against him while she reached her other hand between them to stroke him before leading him to where she really wanted him.

Lee pulled back from her stopping her with his hand on hers, with a shake of his head, "No. Not yet. Not until I know you're ready."

"I _am_ ready." Amanda took his hand, guiding him to her center so that he could feel just how ready she was, then took him in her hand as she lowered herself to meet him, pushing him deep inside her.

""Manda," he growled low at the contact, marveling at how wet she was for him already as she began to ride him slowly.

Amanda lowered her head to nip at the tender skin of his neck muffling her cries of pleasure against his skin.

Lee, quickly losing patience with her maddeningly slow movements, gripped her hips and keeping himself within her, flipped her onto her back, her head at the foot of the bed as he drove into her hard.

"Yes," Amanda hissed as she tugged on the back of his head to pull him down for another heated kiss and hooked her legs behind him, her earlier fantasy becoming reality as they moved in sync together, pushing and pulling, holding each other tightly, swallowing each other's cries of release in their fiery kisses.

They continued to kiss long after their movements had stopped, the passion of them cooling and becoming long and languorous as they held each other in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Lee was the first one to pull back, caressing her face as he did so and gazing into her eyes. "So, is this what you meant about not getting "up" until you turned off the light?" he teased.

Amanda laughed and slapped at him playfully. "Not exactly."

"Well, I'd say that it was not what I had in mind when I came here tonight, but I-"

He didn't get the words out as another voice intruded. "Amanda?" Dotty West's voice called from the hall.

"Shit," Lee growled as he leapt from Amanda's bed and hurried to gather up his discarded clothing followed by Amanda hustling him toward her closet, knowing there wasn't enough time for him to get dressed and out the window before her mother would demand entrance to her room.

Once Lee was hidden away, she yanked her nightgown over her head and quickly reached for the remote to the small TV that sat on her vanity, flipping it on as she called through the closed door, "Yes, Mother?" wishing to God, she'd locked the door when she closed it. She scrambled for her bed and pulled the covers back over her lap.

Her mother entered the room then and inquired in an incredulous voice, "What on earth are you still doing up and what was the noise I was just hearing?"

"Oh, I...Um...I was having trouble falling asleep, so I thought I'd watch a little TV until I get sleepy. I'm sorry if I woke you. I'll...um...I'll just turn it down." Amanda the made a big show of using the remote to adjust the volume.

"Uh-huh," Dotty said disbelievingly as she knew the sounds she'd been hearing were not of any television show. Aside from that, she'd detected the faint musky scent of sex in the room as soon as she'd walked in. She wanted to call her on it, but instead she said, "You know, you shouldn't watch TV in the dark. It's bad for your eyes," knowing that her daughter would just deny it.

"Yes, Mother, you're right," Amanda agreed.

"So, what's keeping you awake this late? Thinking about your new man? Or perhaps you're thinking about your other man."

"I don't have a new man," Amanda denied. "I told you that dinner tonight was just business."

"Sure, okay, business. With a man who sent you flowers, kept you out way past midnight and invited you for a breakfast date in the morning?"

"Just a business breakfast," Amanda explained. "There's nothing romantic between me and Alan."

Dotty shook her head and said, "Amanda, I don't know what it is with you. This Alan obviously thinks there's more to it than that. Why else would he have written you the note that he did?"

"Look, Mother, he made an overture tonight and I turned it down, okay?"

"Why would you do that? He must like you."

"It's complicated," Amanda hedged.

"I don't suppose that this has anything to do with the fact that I just happened to look out my window before I came in here and noticed that silver sports car down the block again," her mother suggested.

"I don't know what you mean, Mother."

"Of course you don't, dear," Dotty replied sarcastically then gestured toward the closet. "Tell Lee, if that's really your mystery lover's name, that he might as well leave by the front door. I can't imagine it's very pleasant for him to climb up and down the trellis. You don't want me to meet him, fine. I'll keep my distance."

Before Amanda could respond, her mother was gone. She scurried out of bed and to the door to lock it before making her way back to the closet to let Lee know the coast was clear.

"Yeah, I know. I heard," he groused, now fully dressed. "I...Um...I think I'd better still go out the window."

"Tiptoe," Amanda whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When he arrived home after wrapping the case and entered his bedroom, Lee violently tossed his keys onto the desk in the corner as he reflected on the events of the past few days. While he was elated that Amanda had finally allowed him into her bed, that elation had been short-lived due to the interruption and overhearing her mother's conversation with her about Chamberlain. He walked back into his living room, poured himself a double shot of scotch downing it quickly before pouring another.

"Damn!" he swore loudly. What was going on with Amanda? She'd told her mother that it was just business with Chamberlain, but as he'd walked away from the two of them, he'd seen her kissing him with his own eyes, not even a full forty-eight hours after he'd been making love to her in her bed. Had he underestimated Amanda? Was she seeing both of them? No, that wasn't possible because she wasn't really seeing him.

As he paced restlessly, his eyes fell on the slip of paper he'd haphazardly tossed on his coffee table a week or so ago. He picked it up and stared at it. "Leslie O'Connor," he said aloud as he recalled the pretty, vivacious brunette he'd met at an embassy party and had chatted amiably with for a good portion of the night. He picked up the phone and began dialing. When her phone was answered, he said, "Leslie, hi, Lee Stetson, we met at the Soviet Embassy..." If Amanda could play the field, giving no thought to the fact that they'd been growing closer, or at least in his mind they had, then what was wrong with him having a little fun too?

After making a date for the weekend, he hung up the phone and walked back to the bar to refill his glass. As he did so, he noticed the opera tickets that he'd dropped there a couple of days ago. After procuring a set of tickets to bribe Murray with, he'd gotten himself a set as well, thinking that he'd ask Amanda to go with him. He'd been dying to take her on a real date for months now. He'd completely forgotten about them when talking to Leslie. Maybe he should call her back and change their plans. Just as soon as he thought it, he shook his head. "No," he scolded himself. Those tickets were meant for Amanda and that's how it should stay, but how could he ask her out on a date now that he knew she was dating someone else? He'd have to come up with a way to ask her without making it sound like a date. After what he'd seen and heard about her romance with Chamberlain, he wasn't about to wear his heart on his sleeve, only to risk rejection.

They were supposed to work together tomorrow on putting away all the numerous files that Congresswoman Faber had insisted on dragging out and scrutinizing. Maybe he'd just find a way to work it into the conversation them. He knew he'd have to do it soon because the tickets were for tomorrow night. He could be clever when he wanted to be. He'd look for an opening and jump on it. He swallowed the last of his drink and made his way back to his bedroom, getting undressed quickly, before climbing into bed and falling into a restless, tormented sleep.


	49. We Don't Do Enough of That

**Chapter 49- We Don't Do Enough of That**

**"Over The Limit"**

For the fourth night in a row, Lee tossed fitfully in his bed as his tortured thoughts plagued him. He couldn't figure out what he was feeling anymore. He'd had a great time taking Amanda to the opera and she'd looked beautiful when she'd met him at the Kennedy Center. He'd offer her his arm as they'd entered together and throughout the show, he'd found his hand drifting toward hers only to find hers doing the same. It had been nice, but then like an idiot, he'd gone and ruined it by asking her back to his place for a nightcap to which she'd hemmed and hawed, making an excuse about Jamie having a soccer game the next day and needing to be up early. The look on her face when she'd done it had made him seriously wonder if she was now regretting finally allowing him into her bed or for that matter if she was regretting being with him at all. After all, when he asked her about picking her up at her house, she'd said she preferred to meet him there instead. He thought about her mother's words of just a few days ago, that it was okay for him to leave by the front door, yet Amanda had still made him climb out the window and had refused to allow him to pick her up for a real date. What was going on with her?

He turned over onto his back, staring at his ceiling knowing that he'd never get to sleep unless he could shut his mind off to his nagging thoughts. He vividly recalled the apologetic look that had appeared on Amanda's face, which was most likely a reaction to the dejected one that he knew had to have been apparent on his own. She'd immediately suggested an alternative for them to spend more time together, asking him if he'd like to go to dinner the following night to which he'd had to make an excuse himself as he'd already made a date with Leslie for that night. The expression of hurt and disappointment in her dark, expressive eyes told him that she was not a bit happy with him and muttered something about how it was a good thing they'd arrived in separate cars, then had stalked off to her station wagon. He'd called after her, but she never turned around, just peeled away, leaving him standing there with an anguished look on his face, feeling like a class-A heel for making a date with Leslie.

"Leslie," Lee said softly as he threw the covers back on his bed and padded to his living room, making a beeline toward the bar, knowing that he wasn't going to get any sleep without a little help. As he knocked back the scotch that had become his sleeping medicine over the past few days, he wondered just what he was going to do about Leslie. He'd had a great time on his first date with her. He'd wanted to keep it light, just dinner and a movie, a comedy at that, no romantic comedies, as that would put too much pressure on a first date for two people who were just getting to know each other. No action movies either because he had enough action in his life with the way his job was. Therefore, they'd decided on _Maxie and t_hey'd both laughed uproariously at the antics of the ghost of the 1920's flapper who'd taken over Glenn Close's sedate housewife much to the confusion of her husband. He'd found though that the references to her being a housewife in the film had only made him think of Amanda, except that she was far from sedate. He wondered what the people at the agency who pooh-poohed her abilities because of being a supposedly reserved housewife would say if they knew just how un-reserved she could be.

He downed his drink and poured another one, walking back toward his empty bedroom with it, strolling to the chair in the corner of the room. He paused and stared for a moment at the pile of clothing awaiting a trip to the dry cleaners, the pants he'd worn to her house the other night slung over the back of it. Picking them up with one hand, he gaped at the large tear down one leg created by her trellis and shook his head. That thought took him back to hearing her mother's voice while he hid in the closet. He let out another deep sigh as his thoughts continued to torment him. Her mother knew about them. Dotty West knew all about their love affair...Or whatever you wanted to call it, so why he was still not allowed to date her properly or romance her the way that he longed to do was a mystery to him.

That was what was nice about dating Leslie. He had picked her up at her hotel; he had taken her out, he had driven her back home again and he had even been allowed a chaste goodnight kiss at her door. It wasn't a passionate kiss; not like the ones that he'd shared with Amanda, but still it had been nice and after all, what was one really supposed to expect on a first date? Before he had left, she'd invited him to be her date for the Soviet Embassy party that she'd be working as a translator and he'd readily accepted. As soon as he'd gotten home that night though, he couldn't stop his mind from drifting back to that New Year's Eve party at the same embassy last year when he'd spent the evening dancing with Amanda, the fun they'd had together until he'd ruined it by getting so drunk that he could no longer stay upright. He cringed as he thought of that and how his stupidity had given Amanda no choice but to care for him until he sobered up a little.

He threw his torn pants back onto the pile in the chair in a huff, drained the last of the scotch as he wandered back toward his bed, slammed the empty glass down on his nightstand and crawled back into bed waiting for the effects of the liquor to kick in so he could shut off his addled brain. As he finally began to sink into an alcohol-induced slumber, his last coherent thought was of Amanda at that New Year's Eve party, that gorgeous black dress that she'd worn and how it seemed that he was always doing something stupid to ruin things between them.

The following morning, Amanda entered her kitchen to the sound of the teakettle's whistling being ignored by her mother. As she began to explain to her about her meeting and how she needed her help to get Jamie started on his worm farm while she poured herself a glass of milk, she couldn't help noticing how distracted her mother seemed. After calling to her twice with no response, she finally walked right up to her and in a singsong voice, called, "Earth to Mother," to get her attention.

'Ha, ha," Dotty chuckled awkwardly, then looked up at her daughter, asking, "Darling, do you think a woman becomes more or less attractive when she gets older? To men?"

Amanda finished swallowing the milk she'd been drinking and answered, "I guess it depends on the woman."

"And the man," Dotty responded dreamily.

"Right," Amanda concurred, wondering where her mother was going with this. As she watched her mother turn her attention back to her magazine, she couldn't help spotting the catalog that slipped out of it. "What's that?"

Dotty tried to grab it, but Amanda was too quick for her, "Oh, that's just one of those throwaway things that they put into these magazines.

"Mother, this is not one of those throwaway advertising things," Amanda argued as she perused her mother's choice of reading material. "This is an entire cata-" She broke off as she flipped to the front cover for a moment and read, _"Rebecca's Fantasies. _This is an entire sexy lingerie catalog." She flipped through the pages in earnest, her thoughts drifting to Lee's continual teasing about her modest nightgowns and the long-ago overheard conversation she'd had with Penny about sexy nightgowns. She couldn't help wondering what was going on with Lee and why he'd yet again distanced himself from her after she'd finally allowed him into her bed. That was exactly what she'd been afraid of and couldn't help thinking that maybe it had been a mistake. She'd thought they'd had a good time on their date to the opera and was pleased to find his hand seeking hers out, but then when the night had ended and she'd been bold enough to ask him for dinner the next night, he'd hedged and made an excuse about having other plans. She couldn't help wondering if he was seeing someone else or if there was something else going on. Had she scared him off by asking him out? She wondered too, if now might be the time to indulge his fantasy of her in a sexy nightgown to recapture his waning interest. "Oh, would you look at that," her thoughts on if she should order something for herself. She'd worn them for Joe and that had always seemed to spark his attention. _But not for long enough, you're divorced, remember?_ Amanda reminded herself. Off her mother's curious look, she tried to disguise her interest in the featured products she was looking at, by saying, "I don't know why anyone would wanna' wear this stuff. You can read through it."

"You could," Dotty answered dryly, "But when you put one of those things on, I don't think you wanna' curl up with a good book."

"O-kay," Amanda replied as she eyed her mother warily wondering just what she was up to. The last time she'd found a catalog like that one in the house, she'd found out that it was because her mother was anticipating her marrying Dean. After her comments of a few nights ago, she wondered if she was mentally planning her wedding to Lee. Amanda shook her head slightly as if to shake off those nagging thoughts, knowing that would never happen. "I'm outta' here."

While Amanda was contemplating her mother's actions, Lee awoke to the annoyingly cheery sound of birds outside his window. "UGH," he groaned as he rolled over, his half-open eyes falling on his alarm clock. "Shit!" He growled as he bolted out of bed, instantly wishing he hadn't when he was assailed by a pounding in his head because of the previous night's binge. "Shit, I'm late!" He glared at his alarm clock and searched his memory banks, trying to remember if he'd shut it off this morning sometime and gone back to sleep or if he'd just forgotten to set it the night before.

He stumbled to his dresser, yanking open a drawer in search of clean underwear and paused for a moment as his attention was captured by Amanda's next to his in the drawer. He couldn't help smiling slightly at the thought as he recalled how he'd come to be in possession of several bits of her intimate apparel, a couple of bras and multiple pairs of her panties, only a few of which were still wearable due to the frenzied nature of some of their past encounters. He chuckled softly as he realized that he unwittingly had been building up quite a collection, always intending to give them back to her, but never quite doing so as something else always distracted him from that task. He finally shook off those thoughts and resumed the daunting task of getting dressed for the day, reaching for the first thing in his closet before hurrying out the door.

Still trying to shake off the effects of his scotch-fest, he entered the bullpen just in time to hear Billy talking about spring-cleaning only to be accosted by both Francine's salacious jibe of "Ooh, it's the midnight rambler," followed by Billy's stern, "I wanna' talk to you," with a scolding finger pointed at him.

Amanda gazed at Lee worriedly at seeing how tired he looked, Billy's words only half-registering in her mind as she wondered why he looked as if he were still trying to wake up, yawning as he pulled on his suit jacket. He looked as if he'd just fallen out of bed and thrown clothes on before racing for the door. She frowned while she watched him, a surge of jealousy coursing through her, her thoughts once again on her suspicions that he was dating someone new. Now, her suspicions were rapidly becoming more than suspicions. She was certain of it and not only that he was dating someone new, but also that that someone new had kept him up all night.

Amanda tried to distract herself from those thoughts as she tore her gaze from Lee and forced herself to look at the files Francine had just handed her, saying to Billy, "Some of these do look a little strange, Sir."

Her comment had gotten Billy's attention and he approached her to tell her about the date he'd made for her at the firing range. She grimaced slightly, especially when Francine shot her an amused look, but it was a welcome distraction from imagining what Lee had been doing the night before. That distraction was not to last long though, as Francine began running off at the mouth about Lee and the Russian circus and threw some pointed barbs at Lee regarding his appearance. Amanda cheerily said good morning to him amid Francine's taunts, but her smile soon faded when her greeting wasn't returned. She looked Lee up and down while the verbal sparring match continued, noticing that he was still straightening his tie, that his was wearing mismatched socks, that his pants were slightly wrinkled and didn't have their normal sharp crease.

"Francine, do you mind?" Lee sniped in irritation before turning to Amanda, saying, "It's insomnia, that's all," feeling the need to explain himself to Amanda and let her know that he'd been sleeping alone. When he slept at all, that was. He warily approached Billy wondering what kind of lecture he was about to receive. As he listened to Billy's explanation of what he wanted from him, he tried to get out of it. After seeing Amanda offering him only weak, half-hearted smile at his explanation of insomnia, he wasn't sure that the two of them running around together all day would be a great idea, though he couldn't help the slight smile that crossed his face when Billy talked about how enthused she got on the job. He definitely wasn't wrong about that, although, he knew from first-hand experience, that her enthusiasm didn't stop with the job.

Billy glared at Lee's hesitance at working with Amanda on her first spring-cleaning assignment, telling him about the rumors he'd been hearing. When he felt that Lee was finally getting it, he hissed through clenched teeth, "Take care of her," giving him a pointed look before turning toward his office. He hoped that Lee got his true meaning. He'd known for some time that the two of them had long ago become more than partners, but ever since the case surrounding Alan Chamberlain's abducted sister, he'd sensed the escalating tension between the pair and longed to see them work out whatever was coming between them.

He sank wearily into the chair behind his desk worrying about this being the fourth day in a row that Lee had come into the office looking like a train wreck and desperately hoped that he wasn't falling back on old habits. Had he started to feel that he was getting too close to Amanda and now was trying to distance himself again? He'd seen this pattern in him before and feared for his emotional health, as well as Amanda's. She was not the kind of woman that he could have a casual affair with and then let go. He prayed that Lee was not about to break her heart. He glanced for just a moment through the window of his office toward the bullpen just as Lee was leading Amanda through the glass doors, his hand on the small of her back. "That's a good start," he said to himself as he turned his attention back to his work.

Later that day in response to Lee's grumbling about how long they'd been held up at their last destination, Amanda commented, "You're pretty antsy," then burning with curiosity and consumed with jealousy about the reason for his supposed insomnia, but trying to sound casual, inquired, "You got a date?"

"No," Lee answered defensively, then in a calmer tone, explained, "Just a little preoccupied. That's all." Preoccupied wasn't really the word for it, but how could he tell her what he was really feeling without sounding like an asshole? He wanted to tell her just how much she'd hurt him with her actions of a few days ago. He'd thought that with her finally relenting and allowing him to make love to her in her bed, that that had meant something, meant that she was ready to move forward in their relationship, but then just a day later, she was kissing another guy right in front of him. Not that she'd known that he'd been watching, but that made it that much worse. He felt that she couldn't have hurt him more if she'd punched him.

Amanda offered to take over and finished the rest off by herself for which he was grateful, her giving smile sending warmth flooding through him, reminding him again of the embassy party. "Amanda, you remember that New Year's Eve party at the Soviet Embassy?"

"Oh, yeah," she replied with a chuckle. "You tried to match Borchov vodka for vodka and ended up in the borscht."

"Right," Lee laughed with her, happy that she wasn't harboring any resentment over his asinine behavior that night. "Oh, you sure looked beautiful," he reminisced.

"Oh, thank you." Amanda gave him a pleasant smile at the compliment, her spirits lifting at this enjoyable trip down memory lane, her feelings of jealousy easing a little.

"Remember how we danced?" Lee beamed at her.

"Oh, yeah," she answered dreamily as the memories washed over her.

"Amanda," Lee said in a firmer tone to get her attention.

"Hmm?" she replied as she stopped walking and turned to face him.

"You were wearing that fabulous dress...the one with the...uh...what do you call them..."

"Spaghetti straps," Amanda supplied.

As they described her dress together, Lee commented, "Oh, it's gorgeous."

"Thank you," Amanda gushed, her heart soaring at his flattery, suddenly thinking that maybe she'd just been paranoid in thinking that he was seeing someone else if his mind was on her and could describe in such detail what she'd worn to a party nearly a year ago. Her elation soon came to an abrupt halt though after explaining to him that she'd made it and learning that his compliments hadn't been about her at all and that he was only using his charm on her in search of getting a present for his new girlfriend. "Oh," she said as the realization struck her like a slap in the face and she hurried off, not wanting him to see her disappointment.

"Uh..." Lee watched Amanda stomp away, at a loss once again for what to do so stop her. "Stupid!" he scolded himself. What the hell had he been thinking bringing Leslie into his otherwise pleasurable conversation with Amanda? He sighed in frustration, raking both hands through his hair at his own idiocy.

That afternoon, Lee's frustration only grew as he scanned the crowd at the park, looking for any sign of Amanda, feeling a surge of guilt at allowing her to continue on her own and putting her life in danger. A wave of relief hit him as she saw her standing alone on the hill. He quickly sprinted to her, rambling at his worry for her and listening to her rambling in return about the bomb. He took her in his arms and held her tightly in a protective, comforting embrace. "Just thank God you weren't hurt, that's all," He said sincerely.

"I'm okay," Amanda reassured him as she pulled back a little, but still held onto him, touched by his seemingly genuine concern for her.

As with many of their moments together, this one was not to last as they were interrupted by Manny Trudeau, the detective on the case. At seeing Elizabeth Sullivan being placed under arrest and Lee telling her that the police had no choice, her brief respite from her anger at Lee soon dwindled.

The situation was only made worse when they arrived back at the agency and both Billy and Francine had agreed with the detective, Billy even telling her to stay out of it and to let the police handle the situation. She'd never been openly insubordinate before, but this time she'd had enough. "I'm sorry, Sir, but that isn't enough. I like Elizabeth Sullivan and I'm gonna' try to help her. Excuse me, Sir." She made a rapid exit from her boss' office not stopping even when hearing Lee calling her name until her forcibly stopped her with a hand on her arm.

When Amanda finally stopped and looked at him, Lee warned, "Now, you have that look..."

"Well, with the sleep you've been missing and a new girlfriend and all, I'm surprised you noticed," She countered hotly, no longer even trying to disguise her jealousy as her anger at him rose. Before he could respond, she turned on her heel, striding through the bullpen at a fast clip, a woman on a mission.

"Who says I have a new girlfriend?" Lee called after her in a futile attempt to stop her. He had to think of something to redeem himself with Amanda because her storming out on him was beginning to get old fast. Not only that, but so was his inability to get through to her. He sighed at he trotted through the bullpen, mentally putting a plan in motion as he did.

At the police station, after the Sullivan family had left, Lee and Amanda locked eyes for a brief moment before he turned away and stared at his shoes awkwardly. She approached him and asked, "You arranged that?"

"Mmm..." Lee hedged with a slight smile at seeing the matching hesitant smile on her face.

"Good move," she said with a nod of approval.

The next day, Amanda hurried to her foyer at hearing the commotion coming from it. At seeing the purple box that her mother had snatched from her hands, her voice oozing surprise, she queried, "Mother, what have you ordered?"

"Well, to be perfectly honest..." Dotty stopped as she noticed the inquisitive looks on her grandsons' faces and quickly continued with, "I really don't think any of this should concern you."

"Mother, I _have_ to know," Amanda argued. "You're my mother. You're a parent, you're a grandparent..."

"I'm also an adult," Dotty countered cutting her off, "And a woman with interests and needs." She gave her daughter a pointed look. "_You're _my daughter. When I ask you questions like this, you tell me not to," she hinted reminding her daughter of how she was keeping her from knowing more about her relationship with Lee.

At watching her sons' heads shifting back and forth at the volleying between them, she said to them, "Fellas, why don't you take the trash out." She cringed slightly at hearing their cheers toward their grandmother, but soon turned her attention back to her mother. She knew that her face must have turned six different shades of red at hearing her mother explain what her plans were, knowing that the shock of it all must be evident on her face. She grimaced as Dotty hurried up the stairs with her purchase in hand and was beginning to understand how her mother felt at knowing about her interactions with Lee. She shook her head as if to shake off the imagery seeing the lingerie box had created in her mind. "Ugh," she groaned at the thought of her mother in that way.

That afternoon, she felt like her old self again as she and Lee walked down the hallway toward his apartment, lightly arguing over who'd done the better job on their trip to Trans-oceanic. The lightness of the mood between them, however, came to a screeching halt as they reached his door to find it partially open. They each flattened themselves against one wall while Lee held up a finger to silence her while reaching for his gun, cautiously entering his apartment gun first, pausing at seeing the setup on his dining table.

At hearing the lilting, "Bon Jour, Cherie," coming from his kitchen, he hastily stowed his pistol away covering it quickly with his jacket to prevent Leslie from seeing it.

As she explained why she was there and that she'd wanted to surprise him, he replied, "Oh, you did," with a nervous chuckle wondering how the hell he was going to get out of the mess he was in, knowing that Amanda was right outside his door. He hung his head slightly as Leslie, being the friendly person that she was, made her way to introduce herself to Amanda, only increasing the awkwardness that he felt. He began to stammer an explanation, but Amanda covered for him by saying that she was his secretary. He then made an excuse about a "contract" to diminish said awkwardness, to call Billy, let him know what was up, to allow Amanda to make a graceful exit and give him a little peace. When he'd asked Leslie out, he'd never imagined that she and Amanda would ever meet. Of course, he also hadn't imagined that Leslie would show up unannounced to fix him dinner either.

After Lee had left the room, Amanda's light-hearted mood disappeared as she listened to Lee's new girlfriend talking about the dress he'd bought her, how he was full of surprises and how she planned to model the dress for him, reminding her painfully of how she'd briefly thought of giving in to his request to wear sexy lingerie for him. She couldn't help wondering just what else Lee had delivered to Leslie's hotel room. She felt an uncharacteristic surge of hatred for the otherwise sweet, lovely woman in front of her as she talked about chemistry. _I could show you chemistry, _she thought as she recalled the many times that she and Lee had been unable to control themselves in their passion for one another. She guessed that was over though.

"I...uh...I really should be going," she sputtered wanting to make a hasty retreat at seeing this perfectly normal, obviously intelligent, pleasant woman who was so different from the flighty bimbettes she'd encountered in Lee's past that it broke her heart to think that he was ready for a normal relationship with a normal woman, just not her. Matters were only made worse by Leslie inviting her to dinner, which she immediately turned down and Lee re-entering the room and removing the extra place setting that the other woman had set out, making it clear that he didn't want her there. She also turned down Leslie's invitation to join them at the embassy party the next night, loathing the idea of seeing this woman in the dress Lee had bought her knowing that she was the reason for his sleep-deprived nights.

As Lee hustled out the door, it wasn't more than two seconds after the door had been closed that she turned on him furiously spitting out how Leslie would never understand him or what he does. She desperately wanted to add that she would, remind him that she already knew all his secrets, that she would be the one to get him, but thought better of it when he argued back that with what Leslie did for a living, she could guess what he did.

Amanda stormed to the elevator at his insistence that she go straight home, rambling about how she'd never been any of the places Leslie had and how it was always the same old thing, "Go straight home."

"Amanda King, I am not going to fight with you about this," Lee snarled as he held open the elevator door, utterly floored by her behavior. Why was she acting like a jealous wife when she was seeing other people too? "Go home!"

"Not this time, Buster!" Amanda groused as the doors closed, fuming about him telling her to go home and basically chasing her out of his apartment when just a few nights ago, he'd invited her home with him. She folded her arms across her chest, thinking that if he was too wrapped up with his new girlfriend to think clearly about the job, that _somebody_ had to focus on the case.

A short while later while Lee waited for Leslie to emerge from his bathroom, his thoughts whirled as he poured a glass of wine, feeling once again as if Amanda had sucker-punched him. What did she want from him? If she was looking for something long-term, she sure as hell didn't act like it or she wouldn't be dating someone else. If she'd just say the word, he'd drop Leslie in a hot second, but she seemed so...different these days from the Amanda King he thought he knew. He recalled all the times they'd been together here in his home, how many times they'd made love here. As he glanced at the bottle of wine in his hand, his mind flashed back to the night she'd brought him leftover cake from Phillip's birthday party that they'd shared over a bottle of wine before having heated sex against this very table. He was so lost in his memories of her, that when he heard the door open, he said, "Amanda," then grimaced as he remembered that it wasn't Amanda in his apartment now, but Leslie.

Lee composed himself, turned to face his unexpected date for the evening, smiling warmly at her and how gorgeous she looked in the dress he'd bought her.

"Amanda is very nice," Leslie replied warmly. "And you're very lucky to have her."

"Yes, Amanda is very special," Lee agreed with a nervous titter as he took Leslie's hands and led her to his sofa, knowing in his mind just how special she was to him, but at the same time, Leslie was _here_. She was the one making an effort, the one who genuinely wanted to be with him. He couldn't say he felt that coming from Amanda since she'd been so hot and cold lately. He pushed thoughts of Amanda to the back of his mind as Leslie scooted closer to him, determined that he was going to live in the moment.

Just as their lips were about to meet, the phone rang, jarring him back to reality, particularly when O'Keefe mentioned Amanda. He made his apologies to Leslie, explaining that something had come up and that he was needed back at work. She graciously understood, just as she had when he'd called her by Amanda's name, smiled politely and told him she'd wait for him. At seeing her warm, sincere smile, he began thinking how much he didn't deserve her; or Amanda for that matter as he exited his home, feeling very much like the cad that Francine often accused him of being.

That feeling only intensified as he returned to his apartment later after catching O'Keefe, finding the dining table was now empty, the dishes washed and put away. "Hello?" he called wondering if Leslie had decided not to stay after all.

"Hi," Leslie answered warily as she re-emerged, wearing her street clothes again, the box containing her party dress tucked under one arm and her purse slung over the opposite shoulder. She cleared her throat awkwardly as she approached him. "If...If you're hungry, there's...Um...dinner in the oven. I...I should be going."

Lee nodded, knowing what was coming, "Leslie, I'm sorry." He didn't even have the strength to argue. He knew now that he should never have asked her out in the first place.

"Don't," Leslie warned. "I...um...I'm really trying to be a good sport about this, but that's kind of hard to do now that I see I never had a fighting chance. The race was rigged from the beginning. I was always going to come in second to Amanda."

"Leslie...I...Uh..." Lee sighed, ran a hand through his hair and then said, "I don't know what to say." He was thoroughly ashamed of himself, for using her, for thinking for even one moment that he could turn her into a replica of the woman he really loved, and most of all for how much he'd hurt Amanda in the process and probably ruined any chance he had with her.

"Best not to say anything at all then," Leslie responded. "Thank you for the dress." She indicated the box under her arm as she made her way to the door.

"Leslie, wait," Lee followed her reaching for her arm turning her to face him, much as he'd done with Amanda at the office the day before. "I really am sorry. I know there's no way that I can ever make it right."

"If you really want to make it right, stop wasting time and tell her how you really feel about her."

"I...uh...I can't...you don't understand." How could he tell Amanda how much he loved her when he'd just broken her heart? He'd seen her reaction to Leslie's surprise visit, had heard the edge in her voice in the office when sniping about his sleepless nights and new girlfriend.

"You're right, I don't. Good-bye, Lee." She paused for a best, gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and without another word exited his apartment and his life.

Lee let out a deep sigh, partially from remorse, but partially from relief that his conundrum was over. That his very brief romance with Leslie had been the eye-opener that he had needed. While he knew that Amanda would never believe him if he told her he loved her right now, he was determined now that he would find a way to show her, to regain her trust so that one day he'd feel he could say those words to her and have her know that he meant them.

Lee wandered aimlessly toward the bar, in search of his nightly sleep aid, but just as he picked up a glass, he shook his head and put it back down, realizing that he no longer needed it. As he made his way to his bedroom, he strolled to his dresser, opening his underwear drawer, smiling at the contents of it, thinking of a day in the future when his and Amanda's things would mingle like this on a more permanent basis. "Someday, Amanda," He said as he pulled out a pair of pajama pants, undressing quickly and pulling them on. As he slid between the cool sheets, he whispered softly, "Someday."

The following evening after leaving the Sullivans' and dropping Amanda off at her house so that she could check on her boys before their dinner, Lee puttered around in his kitchen preparing for his new girlfriend's arrival. He smiled at the ease with which he now thought of Amanda in that way, his smile broadening as he heard a knock on his door. His breath caught in his throat at seeing Amanda on the other side wearing the stunning black dress with the pearl buttons. "You...you look amazing," Lee beamed, but then glanced nervously at his own clothes, "But I suddenly feel underdressed."

"Oh, well, I...um...I just remembered you saying how much you liked this dress and I...um..."

"N-n-no, you look gorgeous," Lee sputtered nervously.

"Thanks," Amanda replied, flushing slightly at his intense scrutiny of her as she entered his apartment. "Something smells wonderful. Are we...Um..."

"Are we what?" Lee asked surprised by her obvious confusion.

"Um...eating here?"Amanda questioned. "When you said steak dinner, I thought...I mean, I thought we were going out. That's...um...That's why I wore this. If I'd known, I'd have...I don't know...worn something more casual...like you." Amanda stared down at the floor, silently cursing her misunderstanding. She'd thought when he'd asked her out that it would be a real date; that he was finally ready to be publicly seen with her instead of sneaking around as they had been.

Lee slammed the front door closed, took one of Amanda's hands in his as he used his other to tip her chin up as he met her eyes with his. "Amanda, don't. I love that you wore this dress for me just because you knew I liked it. I'm sorry if I didn't make my intentions clear. When I said that I wanted this dinner to be just the two of us...alone...Well, that's what I meant. If you...um...you want to go out...I...um...I guess we can, but I..." He paused, unsure of how to put his feelings into the right words without putting too much out there and breaking their fragile truce. "You know, I should go check on dinner." He sighed in frustration, released her and walked back toward his kitchen.

Amanda followed him, needing to have him finish his unspoken thought. "You what?' she demanded as she leaned against the doorway of his kitchen.

"I wanted us to be alone, okay?" Lee said as he slammed the oven door shut after checking on the broiling steaks within it and turned from her again gripping the edge of his sink tightly. "I didn't want to go out to a restaurant because I didn't want there to be any distractions, no waitress or hostess or other customers, or dishes rattling or anything else to get in the way of us spending time together. I wanted to be able to focus on just you for a change. What's so wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Amanda replied, touched by his thoughtfulness as she approached him, laying a hand on his shoulder. When he turned to face her, she slid both hands up his chest to his shoulders. She licked her lips nervously and asked, "But what about Leslie?"

"There is no Leslie. Not anymore, not that there ever really was. We only had one date and we never..._never_-" Lee answered her honestly but broke off when it was clear by the look of relief on Amanda's face that she understood his meaning. "Her showing up here was a complete surprise. I didn't know she was going to be here, didn't ask for it and to be honest, while it was a nice gesture, I didn't really want it." He paused again searching her eyes for her understanding. When he saw that she was looking at him for more, he explained, "If I'd want anyone to sneak into my place and cook me dinner, I'd want it to be you. What I'm trying to say is, that...Well..." He heaved a deep sigh. "...It's you that I want, you that I need, you that I-" his words were cut off by her lips on his, her hands locking around his neck to pull him to her. He growled low in his throat as he gave into her kiss, his hands soon finding themselves at her waist. All the tension of the past few days, all the uncertainty melted away at her touch until a flash of her kissing Alan Chamberlain abruptly intruded on their passionate kiss. He pulled back and pushed her slightly away from him with a shake of his head.

"What's wrong?" Amanda asked in bewilderment. "You just said-"

"I know what I just said, Amanda," he cut her off. "And I wish I hadn't. I have never put myself out there like that with a woman before and you...I can't, Amanda. I thought I could, but I can't."

"Can't what? I don't understand." Amanda was utterly confused by his yo-yo behavior. Did he want her or not? She bit down on her lower lip as she contemplated asking him just that. "I don't get it. I thought...I mean...You said..." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Do you want me or not?" She demanded finally putting it out there

"God, yes, I want you. I want you all the damn time. Don't you know that by now? But I can't..." He turned from her again toward his kitchen window."I can't do it Amanda. I can't be with you if you're out there doing God knows what with God knows who." He gestured widely toward the street below.

"What?" Amanda was stunned. "Lee, I haven't been with anyone but you since...well, since the beginning, since that day in the helicopter."

Lee turned back toward her, and squeaked out hopefully, "You haven't?"

"No. What would make you think that?"

"That guy last week, Chamberlain," Lee admitted.

"Alan?" Amanda scoffed. "There was never anything between me and him. It was all part of the job."

"The job, huh?" Lee said skeptically. "Then why were you kissing him?"

"Excuse me? Were you spying on me? Is that why you really climbed up my trellis that night?"

"What? No! I saw you kissing him after we rescued his sister. Why? Were you kissing him before that?"

"Look, you're the one who told me to go to dinner with him," Amanda reminded him.

"AND I said keep it light, didn't I? Apparently, once again, you didn't listen to me," he groused.

"Listen, _he_ kissed _me_," Amanda explained. "That night I had dinner with him, he-" She shook her head. "I didn't want it. It just happened and just so you know, I was thinking of you the whole time. That's why I couldn't-"

"Okay, so what about you kissing him the next day? The case was over by then. So, if it was all just part of the job, why were you kissing him?"

"Oh, that," Amanda replied with another shake of her head.

"Yeah, that," Lee retorted hotly as he folded his arms across his chest.

"That...That was just sort of an apology for not telling him who I was from the start. I felt bad for misleading him. And it was a goodbye."

"A goodbye?" Lee uncrossed his arms and looked at her quizzically hope flooding through him.

"Yes, a goodbye. He was leaving town and I knew that I'd never see him again. He was a really nice man who just got caught up in circumstances beyond his control, but Lee, you have to know that there was never anything between him and me, not really. He wanted more and I told him no, told him there was someone else in my life."

"Someone...else? Just who might this someone else be?" Lee edged closer to her sliding his hands to her waist.

"I think you know," Amanda answered as she once again tugged on the back of his head to pull him in for a searing kiss, teasing his lips with her tongue until he relented and opened to her. They kissed and explored one another for a long moment until they both pulled back sucking in great gulps of air. "Does...that...answer...your question?" Amanda panted as she tried to catch her breath.

Lee pulled her to him in response, crushing her mouth with his own, delighting in hearing her moaning in response. He lowered his lips to her neck and nuzzled the tender pulse point there as Amanda hissed, "Bedroom."

He pulled back to gape at her in surprise. "What about dinner?"

She turned, flipped the oven knob to the "warm" position and answered, "It'll keep. Right now I want dessert," She replied as she took his hand and pulled him toward the direction of his bedroom.

"Wait," Lee said tugging on her hand. When she turned, he kissed her softly and lifted her into his arms causing her to squeal in delight. She kicked off her heels as he carried her through the bedroom door, not caring where they landed. Lee deposited her gently on his bed, toed off his own shoes, while she pulled the covers back. Amanda rose to her knees to face Lee where he stood and began working the buttons on his shirt loose one by one.

"Another plaid shirt," she commented as she unhooked the last button and ran her hands across his bare chest. "I thought you hated plaid. You know, if that's the case, we should really do something about that." She pushed his shirt from his shoulders and lowered her lips to his exposed skin

"Okay," He sighed in enjoyment as Amanda trailed his lips and tongue down his torso. "Okay, I didn't like wearing Dean's plaid."

"Ohhh, so you _do_ know his name," she teased.

When he saw Amanda looking up at him and smiling smugly, he said, "Yes, yes, yes, I know his name. I always knew his name. Are you happy now? It made me crazy thinking of you with him. That's why I always...you know."

"Well, I'm not with him now, am I?" She laughed softly as she reached for the button on his jeans, flicking it open then slowly lowered his zipper, before slipping her hand inside to caress him.

"No, you're not," he acknowledged letting out a low groan at Amanda's touch. He tugged at the bottom of her dress, skimming his hands up her thighs as he did so. She paused in her exploration of him to raise her arms up and allow him to pull her dress over her head. "God, you're beautiful," he whispered reverently.

"You're not so bad yourself," Amanda replied as she gazed at him appreciatively. She pushed at his jeans and boxers to expose him fully to her lustful eyes and then held her arms out to him invitingly.

Lee kicked his pants and underwear away and lowered her to her back as he joined her in his bed, capturing her lips with his own as she wrapped her arms around him. Their sighs and moans mingled as they kissed furiously and their hands roamed, exploring each other's bodies. Lee lowered his lips to nip at the tender skin of her neck, then trailed kisses downward before taking one hardened nipple in his mouth, gently tugging at it with his teeth before moving on to the other, Amanda's reactions guiding him. He continued his journey downward, down her torso to her stomach, pausing long enough to hook his fingers into the sides of her panties and slide them down her long legs.

He shifted positions as he parted her thighs, placing a tender kiss inside each one, pausing again to look up into her eyes. At seeing them dancing with anticipation, he lowered his head to taste her his arousal heightened by the scent of hers, by her sighs as he took her swollen nub into his mouth suckling her as her sighs turned into loud moans.

"Lee," Amanda hissed as she clutched his head sliding her hands through his thick, silky hair, cradling him to her as he devoured her. Her heart soared as the sensations intensified, having worried all this week that she'd never have this with him again, that like so many other women in his past, she would become a distant memory, Francine's words about becoming just another name in his black books having haunted her the whole time. Now here she was in his bed because he wanted her here, had invited her here, smiling smugly as she recalled his words about not inviting Leslie. Her body began to tremble uncontrollably at the intensity of the sensations he was creating, her cries became louder, and she screamed his name, closing her eyes against the raging fire that burned through her. Before opening them again, she felt him withdrawing his head from her hands and sliding inside her. Her eyes snapped open.

"That's it, Amanda," Lee said as he linked his hands with hers. "Look at me. I want you to really see me when I make love to you." He pushed deeper into her never taking his eyes off of hers as she raised her knees up to allow him deeper entrance, pushing her hips up against his to encourage him. "Oh, yes," he groaned at the feeling of filling her again, happiness flooding through him that she'd forgiven him for his dalliance with Leslie, secure in the knowledge that the other man hadn't meant anything to her. He couldn't have if she could give herself so fully to him after the harsh words they'd spoken to each other this week. "Amanda,' he whispered low as they moved together, advancing and retreating, pushing and pulling until he soon could no longer hold back and felt himself erupting within her, crying out her name, just as he heard her crying out his.

They silently lay entwined together, the only sounds in the room, their heavy breathing as they gazed at one another while coming down from their mutual high, their eyes never leaving one another's. Amanda trailed her hand down his face, finally landing on his shoulder. She was the first to break the silence once she'd caught her breath. "So...um...You and Leslie...you never...?"

"Never," Lee answered with a shake of his head. He clasped her hand in his again, kissing it softly and said, "Amanda, you're the only woman I've ever brought to this bed."

"Good."

Lee released her hand and brushed her rumpled hair away from her face. "Is that why you've been acting so crazy this week? You thought that I...with her?"

"Well, you said that idea of me being with Dean made you crazy and I...Well, I guess I can kind of relate to that. I felt a little crazy myself. I mean, you weren't sleeping and...Then you asked me about my dress and...And you mentioned a friend..."

"Well, I have a solution to stop the crazy...for both of us..." Lee began but then hesitated a little uncertainly, not quite sure that he was quite ready to put it completely out there.

"I...Um...I have an idea to stop that too," Amanda replied. "But you first...Your idea may be better than mine."

"No, ladies first," Lee returned with a smile.

"Oh, no, I insist," Amanda countered while Lee said, "No, you first," followed by Amanda's, "No, you."

They were both silent for a moment, then Lee said, "I think we should only see each other," just as Amanda suggested, "I don't think we should date other people anymore." They laughed together and both said, "Deal," and then sealed the deal with a long, lingering kiss.

Their kiss was interrupted by the loud growling of Amanda's stomach, causing them both to laugh again. "This is what comes from going straight to dessert," Lee teased.

"Are you complaining," she jested.

"Not a bit," Lee answered with a smile, "But I did promise you dinner." He extracted himself from her embrace and reached for her hand as he stood.

As they both began to retrieve their clothing and clean themselves up a bit, Amanda said thoughtfully, "You know, I think you were right."

"Oh? That'd be a first. Right about what?"

"We don't do enough of this," Amanda replied.

"Not by a half," Lee echoed her words from earlier in the day smiling brightly at her as he again reached for her hand.


	50. Days of Wine and Roses, Part Two

**Chapter 50-Days of Wine and Roses, Part Two**

"Sour Grapes"

Francine loudly protested Billy's suggestion that Lee take Amanda along on his investigation to which Billy replied, "What has he got to lose?"

"Time...sleep..." Francine answered, then turned her attention to Lee with a glare and added, "His flawless reputation."

When Lee just gave her a raised eyebrow, she turned back to Billy who had already turned his attention back to Lee. "Take Amanda. She might spot something that you'd miss," Billy said with a Cheshire cat grin, first directed at Lee, then at Francine.

Francine huffed at this with a roll of her eyes, and then glanced at Lee who gave her his annoying smug smirk as she walked past him. "I bet you're just loving this, aren't you," she snarled after the door had closed behind them.

"Loving what?" Lee inquired with a nonchalant shrug.

"That you get to take your new little girlfriend on all your assignments with you," Francine answered hotly with a gesture toward the glass doors that Amanda through which Amanda had just entered.

"Look, Amanda is not my "little girlfriend," Lee countered, his smile long gone, detesting Francine's snide attitude toward Amanda. She was much more than that to him. Didn't she realize that by now?

"Well, don't look now, but your non-girlfriend just walked in and is looking none too happy," Francine warned before walking away.

Lee turned to see Amanda had just entered the bullpen. He flashed her his most charming smile and greeted her with, "Just the person I wanted to see."

"Oh? Well, I'm surprised seeing as how I'm not your girlfriend and all," Amanda replied coolly in a hushed tone to keep the occupants of the bullpen from staring, but making her meaning plainly known to him. "So, I supposed that you just wanted to see me because Mr. Melrose has yet another job for us." She turned on her heel and exited just the way she'd come.

"Uh...yeah, he does," Lee said as he trailed after her. He caught up to her quickly, grasped her arm and spun her around to face him just as she'd reached the elevator and jabbed at the button. "But that's not why I was happy to see you. I...I was just...you know...happy to see you."

"Hmmm," She murmured, not entirely convinced. She wriggled out of his grasp and stepped into the now opened elevator. "So, what's the job?"

He stepped into the elevator behind her and turned to face her. "Amanda, I...about what I said to Francine, I..."

Amanda jabbed a finger into his chest to make him keep his distance. "Stow it, Scarecrow," she snapped. "Now, the job?"

Lee sighed and decided it would be better to just get right down to business since it was obvious by the perturbed look on his girlfriend's face that she was not in the mood to be appeased. Even his most alluring smile and charming flattery would not get him out of the hot water he was in at the moment. On the way upstairs and out to the parking garage where his 'vette was parked, he explained the nature of the case and why Billy wanted her along, inserting little bits here and there about how he wanted her along as well, using Billy's words that she might spot something he'd miss as an ice-breaker.

By the time they reached the auction house, Amanda seemed to have cooled off a bit and upon entering, she pointed out a well-dressed, but tarty-looking blonde to him. She couldn't resist giving him a little payback for his comment to Francine, so when Jill Hulsman approached them, she introduced him as "Dr. Stetson," knowing by the way Jill was looking at him that she'd eat that up just as she would want to eat him up. She was not surprised to see Jill linking her arm with Lee's, dragging him away, leaving her inventory clipboard behind for Amanda to peruse. "Gotcha'" she muttered softly. The jealousy she would have felt in the past over a woman like Jill no longer affected her the way it once would have. Even if Lee wouldn't publicly acknowledge her as his girlfriend, she knew the truth, that the women of her ilk no longer stood a chance with Lee. She still couldn't resist watching him squirm as he dodged the other woman's advances.

Lee gave her a pleading look from across the room that clearly said, "get me out of this." Amanda gave him an innocent, quizzical look then turned her attention to the clipboard in her hands, scanning the inventory list for the wine they were looking for.

A while later, she looked up again to see a frowning Lee handing over a check to Jill, before he crossed the room to her and groused, "Got a cure for shark bite?"

She smiled sweetly and answered, "At least, it's for a good cause," then proceeded to explain what she'd found about the wine to be auctioned off.

Later that afternoon, as Amanda changed out of her work clothes in her bedroom and into a nicer outfit for her cover as Mrs. Gregory Peterson, she couldn't help reflecting on all the different times that she and Lee had played the part of a couple and pretty convincingly at that. She was glad that her mother was, at the moment, at her garden club and not home to question her change of outfits in the middle of the day. After putting the finishing touches on her outfit, she dug in her purse for the ring box provided by the fabrications team and cringed a little at how ostentatious it was. It was very different from the smaller solitaire diamond that Lee had once slipped on her finger prior to their wedding ceremony, or fake wedding ceremony, anyway. But she knew the sentiment behind it was real, at least on some level as the ring was the one that she knew held some personal meaning for him, even though he'd never said so. She slid the wedding set onto her finger, examined it, and thought how wrong it looked. Sure, it was a more valuable ring, flashier, but all the flash in the world couldn't compare to the value of the ring that had once been worn by Lee's mother.

"You look beautiful," Lee whispered huskily in her ear as he slid his hands to her waist, startling her.

She looked up to see "that look" in his eyes in the mirror as he stood behind. her, that look she knew all too well, the one that said that while he liked the way she was dressed, he'd much rather see her undressed. "We...um...we should go."

'We've got time," Lee countered as he used on hand to pull her hair aside and placed a tender kiss to the back of her neck then worked his way down to the buttons on the back of her dress.

Amanda, desperate to keep her body from responding to the searing touch of his lips on her skin, pulled away from him abruptly before he could work the first button loose and said, "Mm-mm," with a shake of her head. She then cleared her throat loudly and made a big show of examining herself in the mirror. "I'm not your girlfriend, remember?"

"That isn't what I meant, Amanda," Lee argued as he reached for her again, grasping her waist tightly and pulling her flush against him.

"No? Because it sounded like in spite of our agreement to only see each other, you still don't want people to know that we're together."

"No, Amanda, that's not it. Francine called you my "little girlfriend" meaning it as an insult, and I was trying to defend you. It...uh...it just came out wrong. Besides you got your revenge when sicced that shark on me." She giggled at this, at the memory of watching him arm-wrestle Jill. "You knew I'd never give in to a woman like her." He dropped another soft kiss to her neck, and then lowered his voice and added, "Didn't you?" He then ran his tongue down the back of her neck. "Knew I'd never let her devour me like she wanted to, not when it's you I want to devour." He then nipped at her earlobe and then gently began to suckle the tender skin just below her ear.

"Lee," Amanda sighed softly, his words, his touch, causing her to melt against him. She hooked one arm behind his neck to encourage him to continue.

At feeling her yielding to him, Lee slid his hands from her waist down her hips to her thighs, working his hands up under her skirt. "You want me too, don't you?" He murmured against her skin as he slipped one hand inside her panties.

"Mm-hmm,' she agreed. As his touch set her on fire, she found her irritation with him fading as his explanation did make sense to her. It wouldn't be the first time he'd defended her against Francine. "Lee," she whimpered as he continued to caress her softly as she felt his erection pressed against her bottom, making her crazy with need.

Without stopping what he was doing, Lee used his freed hand to free himself from his pants, push the fabric of her panties aside and guide just the tip of his shaft against her moist entrance. "It this what you want," he growled low in her ear as he stroked her harder with his other hand.

"Yes," she hissed.

"You want all of it, don't you," Lee replied in a husky voice as he pushed further into her.

"Yes, Please," she pleaded and then cried out when he plunged himself fully inside her, "Yes!"

Lee, taking in the sight of her face in the mirror at he immersed himself within her, felt himself growing harder at the look of raw hunger etched upon it. "Oh, Amanda," he whispered into her hair at the feeling her closing around him welcoming him, knowing that she understood and that he was forgiven for the unintentional hurt he'd caused her. He felt the need to bury himself deeper inside her but found he couldn't at this angle. He knew he could bend her forward slightly to change that, but he was enjoying seeing the reactions on her face in the mirror, so instead he snaked on am around her waist and backed up slowly, pulling her with him until he was sitting on the bed, her on his lap. He nudged her legs further apart with one of his own and groaned at the deeper connection that created delighting at hearing her gasp in response.

Amanda immediately took advantage of the changed position, pushing her hips against him to drive him on, craving the friction of an increased pace as she was so close to her much-needed release after the tension that had been between them all day. "Ohhh," she moaned as they moved together watching his facial expressions in the mirror and a smug smile played across her lips at the pleasure she was giving him.

Lee smiled at her smile and said, "You like it too, don't you? Watching us in the mirror." He grabbed her hips with both hands pulling her down to him as he thrust up into her harder. "Don't you?"

"Oh, yes," Amanda replied ecstatically. More than anything she loved the power that she had over him, knowing that he'd always come back to her, knowing that a man-eater like Jill Hulsman would never capture his interest again. "Oh, Lee!' she cried as her release hit her full force, leaving her trembling against him as he continued his upward thrusts until he soon followed and she felt him exploding within her.

"Manda," he whispered softly, almost reverently against her as he clamped his mouth down on her neck as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through him.

"Don't you dare give me another hickey," she teased as she leaned her head back against him, her lips seeking his. When he released her neck, she lightly brushed her lips against his; giving him a tender kiss to let him know that she accepted his explanation for what happened in the bullpen.

Once he'd caught his breath a little more, he teased back, "Don't want anyone to know what you've been up to?" While he'd said it in a jesting tone, he couldn't help wondering if she was the one really having doubts about having it know that they were together.

"It's not that. I just don't want to have to explain it to my children," Amanda answered honestly as she pulled himself from his lap and began to straighten her disheveled clothing.

Lee rose and began to work on his own clothing, saying, "Just the boys? You're not worried about what you're mother with say knowing that I've been violating her daughter again?" He gave her an impish grin.

Amanda shook her head, "No, I've gotten pretty good at dodging her questions about you."

"Ah," Lee nodded as he tucked his shirt into his pants and took a glance in the mirror to make sure that he looked presentable. "Why dodge them? She knows about us, doesn't she? Why not just tell her the truth?"

"It's...um...it's complicated," Amanda hedged.

"It doesn't have to be," he argued. "We both agreed that we didn't want to see anyone else, so what's the problem?" When Amanda was silent," he placed his hands on her shoulders. "Amanda?"

"Lee, you know very well why it's complicated. If I explain you to her, then there are going to be some questions of hers that I can't answer. She thinks that you're responsible for all the times that I've come home with ruined clothing or bruised and battered." She sighed. "She thinks that our...our thinks has been a lot wilder than it has been."

Lee laughed and replied, "Oh, I don't know. We _have_ had some pretty wild times in the past two years." He turned her to face him. "Haven't we?" He found himself unable to stop grinning as the memories of some of those wild encounters flooded his mind.

"Oh, yes, I know," she answered with a slight flush in her cheeks. "But not as wild as she thinks, not that would lead to my clothes being in shreds and the bruises...She thinks that I let you get rough with me."

"Don't you?" He smirked at her.

"Oh, just forget it. You don't understand," Amanda said in irritation.

"What I do understand is that she's going to have to meet me someday. I mean, if we're serious about going forward together," Lee countered as he began to get irritated himself.

"We...um...we should get there," Amanda said, quickly changing the subject. "So, Lilly Peterson..."

"Yeah," Lee answered as he began to recount the cover that Plato had created for them as they made their way out of her bedroom and down the stairs. All the way to Escoffier, they talked only about the case and their cover, neither having the courage to bring up what they were feeling even though playing a married couple yet again had gotten them both thinking about their future.

"I'm a little nervous about this," Amanda said as they made their way toward the building.

"It's okay," Lee reassured her as he linked his arm with hers. "We've got a good cover." They'd already convincingly played the part of a married couple many times and had even successfully gotten through a wedding ceremony with no one aware that it wasn't real because they'd played it so well. His thoughts were in a jumble as he thought of it and the white dress Amanda was wearing, while she looked fabulous in it, was only making it worse. He wanted to tell her how much that wedding ceremony had meant to him, and had for some time. Even though it wasn't legal, wasn't real, the feelings behind the vows he'd exchanged with her were very much real to him, made even more so by the fact that the engagement ring he'd given her for that cover had been his mother's. He longed to give it back to her some day for real, but how was he ever supposed to do that if she wouldn't even acknowledge his existence to her family?

Amanda repeated their cover story, "We're Lilly and Gregory Peterson from Hillsborough, New York."

"Mm-hmm," Lee confirmed in spite of his inner turmoil he tried to keep his mind focused on the case.

"You're in computer software and I'm a wealthy art patron.

"That's it," Lee acknowledged as he patted her hand affectionately, his immense pride in how far she'd come at the agency making him smile. A year ago, she'd have been a nervous wreck at trying to remember her cover story and while she said she was nervous now, it didn't show. He couldn't help wondering if that in itself was just a cover to keep her from talking about what neither was willing to be the first to bring up.

The nervous tension between the pair only increased when Robison asked them how long they'd been collecting wine and they stumbled over their conflicting answers. They both hemmed and hawed nervously until Amanda finally ended it by saying, "It's a second marriage for both of us," while Lee cleared his throat loudly.

As much as they'd worked on their impromptu cover, the underlying uneasiness between them over their personal relationship, was threatening to blow it. It became worse when Cecilia Robison singled out Amanda, who balked at the initiation, sparking another debate between them until Lee gave her a pointed look and she reluctantly agreed. During his tour of the wine cellar, he pondered what was going on with her as she was usually so attuned to the signals he gave her during a cover assignment. Were her thoughts just as scattered as his because of their personal interactions?

A while later, his irritation with her only increased when he saw her entering the cellar and told him she'd been in the membership office. "Amanda, I told you not to-" What if she'd been caught? She could have been killed if the heroin smugglers were indeed inside Escoffier as they suspected.

She hushed his admonishment of her with a sharp, "Listen..." then began to recount what she'd found.

Their comparing notes on the case was soon cut short though by the creaking of wood. Reacting on instinct, Lee quickly grabbed Amanda and pushed her away, just in time to keep a wine cask from falling on the two of them. He held her tightly to him for a moment, and then looked her up and down to make sure she was okay, and then glance up to see where the barrel had come from, realizing instantly that it had been pushed.

As they made a rapid exit from the building, listening to Robison yammering about their lawyer and insurance company and falling all over himself to apologize, they looked at each other, then at their wine-covered clothing and in unison said incredulously, "Sorry!"

"Some accident," Lee muttered, though he inwardly smiled for a moment as their "accident" had at least for the moment gotten them on the same page again.

That afternoon, Dotty was arguing with Buck over the block party he was planning when Amanda entered the house and tried to sneak up the stairs without being seen, she called "Amanda, I want you to-" Her words were halted as she saw the state her daughter was in and said, "What in the world happened to you?"

"Nothing, just a little accident at work," Amanda answered with a shrug and to keep her mother from prying further, turned her attention to her neighbor and said, "Buck, the street looks like a prison yard after a riot," just as the phone rang. She was about to head for the stairs again, when her mother told her she had a phone call.

While Amanda carried on her phone conversation, Dotty examined her daughter's appearance, plucking at her soaked skirt, stopped by Amanda's hand pushing hers away. She gave her daughter a what-are-you-up-to look, which Amanda replied to with a nervous chuckle while she continued her phone conversation.

Once her call was completed, Amanda said nervously, "Just a friend from work, Mother. I'll probably explain later." Before her mother could say a word, she hurried up the stairs, leaving both Dotty and buck shaking their heads.

"Sure you will," Dotty replied skeptically as her daughter escaped her presence, knowing that if she even if she did explain, whatever she told her wouldn't be the truth.

Buck made a face as Amanda's words sank in. "Prison yard?" He questioned with a look at Dotty who just shrugged with an I-give-up look.

That night as her mother hurried upstairs, Amanda shook her head at the knock on the window. Much to her surprise, it was not Buck behind the WC Fields mask, but Lee. "What did you do, go to that crazy party?" she teased.

"Well, it was the only way I could get in. This place is surrounded by crazy people, huh?"

"I know," Amanda nodded.

"I've been to calmer parties during the Chinese New Year in Hong Kong," Lee joked causing Amanda to laugh, the tension between them having dissipated once again after their unplanned trip to the White House as they'd shared a laugh over the crack the president's valet had made about California wine. Amanda chuckled softly. "I borrowed this mask from a guy who was bobbing for apples in a hot tub."

"Oh, see now that would be Buck," Amanda explained.

"Buck?" He questioned.

"Uh-huh," she confirmed.

"Oh, Buck, huh." Not wanting to talk about Amanda's weirdo neighbor, Lee changed the subject by saying, "Anyway, the reason I came over here..."

Amanda shivered in anticipation as Lee inched closer to her, talking about Penny, but knowing that wasn't the real reason for his visit, by the devilish grin on his face. He had just taken her into his arms when the back door was opened. They both turned to find a shocked-looking Dotty West staring at them with a scolding, "Amanda!"

Amanda, thinking of Lee's words to her earlier about her mother having to meet him sometime, was about to introduce them when she turned back to Lee only to find he'd lowered the mask to cover his face. _So much for that_, she thought. If he was hiding his face from her, clearly he wasn't ready for that despite his earlier protests. She quickly shifted gears. "Oh, thank goodness you're here, Mother!' She then turned back to Lee and in a scolding tone, said, "Buck, you oughtta' be ashamed of yourself," then before another word could be said, took her mother's arm and guided her into the house, quickly making up a story about Buck having had too much to drink an making an inappropriate gesture toward her. Once her mother seemed satisfied with her explanation and had gone back to her room, she heaved a deep sigh wondering what was going on with Lee and why one minute, he was insisting that her mother meet him and the next, he was hiding from her mother again. What was it going to take for them to have a normal relationship?

Lee lifted the mask from his face as he stared at the closed back door, listening to Amanda's blatant lies to her mother until they were out of earshot. He glanced at his reflection in the glass, his facial expression far different from the one he'd seen reflected back at him in Amanda's bedroom mirror. He violently flung the mask aside and made his way out of Amanda's yard, pushing his way through the crowd of partygoers, not caring who he might piss off in the process. As he reached his car, he took one last backward glance at her house, wondering why Amanda had just been given the perfect opportunity to introduce him properly to her mother and had ignored it and just what it would take for her to acknowledge that there was something between them.


	51. Seeking a Little Warmth

Author's Note: So for this one, I decide to expand the scene when Amanda and Lee are locked in their cell when she's telling him that she's scared. After all, they were already on the floor. Thanks to Sheila for the idea of using the "Brady Bunch" reference.

**Chapter 51-Seeking a Little Warmth**

"Utopia Now"

Amanda glanced at her watch and said, "You know, Mother's gonna' be awfully worried if I'm not home tonight."

Lee looked up from the map and said, "Hey," as he reached for her hand. "Is that your way of telling me that you're scared?"

"Yes," she said as they made eye contact and she felt slightly comforted by his hand in hers.

"I don't blame you," Lee replied as he squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'm a little worried myself." As he made a move to get up, Amanda stopped him by using her free hand to grasp at his shoulder and pressed her lips firmly to his, needing the warmth of his presence to ease her fear. Lee responded instantly by reaching for the back of her head to deepen the kiss. Amanda pushed on his shoulders until he was lying on his back, her atop him, never breaking their kiss as they moaned into each other's mouths. Amanda reached for his belt, opening it quickly followed by his pants. "Amanda, wait," Lee said as he pulled back from her.

"Lee, I need-"

He pressed a finger to her lips to silence her. "I know. Me too, but this isn't going to work like this." He nodded toward their booted feet.

"Oh, right," Amanda said in realization as she sat up and made quick work of untying her boots while Lee did the same. Then they were in each other's arms again, tugging at each other's clothing, kissing feverishly in the desperate need they felt to have at least one last time together in the event that they didn't make it out. "Oh," Amanda gasped as Lee's hand made it inside her panties, his touch only increasing her need for him. She nipped at his neck while she moved back to working on his jeans, soon finding her target and eliciting a similar gasp from him, making her heart soar at his response to her. She shifted enough to allow Lee to slide her own jeans down her legs along with her panties and them moved back to free him from his boxers as she took him firmly in her hand and began stroking him in earnest.

"God, Amanda," Lee groaned at the feeling of her hand wrapped around him, closing his eyes against the sensation, but they didn't stay closed for long once he felt Amanda remove her hand and sink down onto him, encasing his shaft in her warmth. "OH," he moaned at the feeling of being inside her as he grasped her hips and pushed his own upward to deepen their connection.

"Lee," she hissed as she began to buck against him hard and fast, needing to feel all of him inside her, needing the completion that only he could give her.

"Amanda," Lee growled, as he used his grip on her hips to slow her movements, knowing that if he didn't, he'd get there before she did. Amanda shook her head as she pushed his hands from her hips. At being deterred, Lee slid his hand between her legs caressing the swollen nub there, smiling at the sighs that escaped her lips at the contact. "Yes, Amanda," he whispered.

"Lee," she cried softly, mindful of the group outside and not wanting to alert them."Oh, Lee."

"Manda," Lee returned at feeling her tightening around him in the throes of her release as hers bought on his own and he emptied himself within her. For a long moment, the only sound in the room was the sound of their heavy breathing until voices from outside coming closer startled both of them. They quickly pulled apart, Amanda scrambling for her discarded underwear and jeans, pulling them back on as quickly as she could. The voices soon faded. Lee breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Just passing by, I think," as he fastened his belt.

"Good," Amanda replied, breathing her own sigh of relief as she yanked up on her jeans and fastened them.

"I just don't think we can trust Hollis for anything," Lee told her.

Having righted her clothing, Amanda began to neatly fold the map they'd had out and put it back in her backpack. "Well, you know, if we're gonna' get out of this, we gotta' do it ourselves."

"You got it," Lee walked to the window reaching his arm through the gap under the mesh and fiddled with the padlock on the door. "You know, Amanda, I think we could pick this lock if we could just get to that knife."

After finishing with the map, Amanda walked to the window to see what he was looking at. They exchanged a brief look while Lee turned to retrieve his discarded boots.

While Lee was tying the laces on his boots, Amanda picked up one of her own and gazed at it for a moment. She then looked through the grated window to her Swiss army knife on the table. She then let her boot drop, holding it by just its laces, testing the weight of it in her hands.

Lee stood after finishing his task. When he saw that she was still in her stocking feet, he looked at her quizzically and said, "What?"

"Lee, did you ever see that episode of _The Brady Bunch_ when they're in the ghost town on their way to the Grand Canyon?"

"Huh?" He looked at her, more confused than ever.

_"The Brady Bunch..." _At seeing his bewildered expression_,_ she explained, "Phillip and Jamie love watching the old reruns of the show. They show it at five and five-thirty every weekday on channel 6 so I've seen all the episodes. So, anyway, in this episode, the family is taking a road trip to the Grand Canyon and on the way there, they decide to stop in this ghost town and they get locked in this old jail cell by this crazy man who thinks they're there to jump his claim when they're really just there sightseeing-"

Lee shook his head at her ramble. "Uh...Amanda, as entertaining as this story is, does it have a point?"

"Yes, it has a point. Since they were in a ghost town, there was no one around to help them get out so they tied their belts together to use as a makeshift lasso to get to the key on the other side of the room and when that didn't work, they threw their shoes at the key to knock it off the wall. Then they tied all their socks together with Carol's purse tied on the end of it to use as a weight to drag the key closer to them so they could get out." She gestured to the door."Look, there's a gap under this door that is big enough that if we could do the same with my knife over there, we could pick the lock, like you suggested."

"Okay, good idea, but one problem. There were nine of them and there are only two of us. I don't think tying our socks together is going to make a long enough "lasso," you don't have your purse with you and your backpack over there doesn't have enough weight in it to work."

"No, I know the socks won't work, but the laces in our boots are longer than normal shoelaces. If we tie them together, we could use one of the boots as the weight." She then gestured to the gap below the meshed window. "I think we might have just enough space here to make it work."

"I don't know about this," Lee said skeptically.

"Well, what's _your_ idea for getting us out of here?" She smiled sweetly at him, but her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "I mean, you're the trained professional as you like to keep reminding me. I'm sure that you must have some brilliant plan brewing to get to my knife. It was your idea to start with, you know."

Lee sighed and gave her an exasperated look, "Okay, I admit it. I don't have a better plan."

"Then what's the worst that could happen? If it doesn't work, then we're no worse off than we are now."

"But-" He sighed again when he realized that he didn't have an argument for her logic. "Okay, fine." He bent to untie the boots he'd just tied, shaking his head the whole time, while Amanda bit down on her lower lip to keep from laughing at him.

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"Buck, I am really worried. I mean, we haven't heard a word. She is never gone this long without leaving some kind of a message," Dotty ranted worriedly as she paced around the den.

"Easy," Buck said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. "I know how it is after a hard day. Hit the first bar for a little happy hour, maybe meet somebody, get lucky..."

Dotty halted in her pacing and gave her neighbor a stern look. "Buck, that may be you. That's not my daughter." However, she couldn't help wondering if her sudden disappearance had something to do with her mystery lover. As Buck continued to ramble about woman running off, her fears only became worse. She made a move to call the police, but was stopped by Buck's negativity.

"You want my opinion, Dot, I still think she just met someone and decided to have a little fun," Buck stated bluntly.

"Speaking of which, I've been meaning to have a word with you about your behavior last week. I mean, I know it was a party and all, but really, you should have known better than to make a pass at my daughter."

"What are you talking about? I never made a pass at Amanda. I mean, she's cute and all, but not my type. Too many responsibilities. I like my women a little freer, unencumbered, you know?"

"Oh, come on, Buck. Don't try to deny it. Amanda told me all about it. You, Amanda, a little too much booze, right out there on the patio," she said with a gesture to the French doors. When Buck looked at her blankly, she tried again. "Does the WC Fields mask ring a bell?"

"Oh, that," Buck said. "That wasn't me. I was bobbing for apples in the hot tub when some guy asked me if he could borrow it." He shrugged and added, "I figured what the hell, it was a party, right?"

"Some guy?" Dotty questioned.

"Yeah, the guy with that hot little sports car, the one she works with who's always hanging around your back yard." At Dotty's knowing look, he said, "A-Ha!. See? You know I'm right. She probably just took off with that guy somewhere. You know my bedroom window overlooks your back yard. I could tell you some stories..."

"You could," Dotty replied curtly as she sat on the arm of the couch with another stern look his direction. "And you're going to...and I mean every single detail."

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That night, cold and scared, wrapped in Lee's arms, Amanda looked at him feeling that it was now or never. Knowing they might not make it out of this, she knew she had to let him know how she felt. "Lee.." she began hesitantly.

"Hmmm?" he replied as he patted her arm affectionately.

"If we don't make it..."

"Hey..." He started as he turned to face her.

"Wait," Amanda said, cutting him off. She made eye contact with him and continued, "If we don't...I just want you to know that I..."

Lee's breath caught in his throat as seeing the look in her eyes knowing that this was it, the turning point. Looking deeply into her warm brown eyes, he remained silently holding his breath waiting for her to say the words he longed to hear.

At seeing the intense look in Lee's eyes illuminated by the fire's glow, Amanda tore her gaze from his, staring instead at his chest. "...I really am glad to have known you," but then mentally cursed herself for chickening out.

He smiled at her, but inside he was screaming for her to spit out the words that he knew she had wanted to. "Well, the same goes here," he said as he patted her shoulder affectionately, hoping she got his true meaning and that she'd continue the thought that she'd begun. When she just laid her head on his shoulder, he began rambling as she often did about how much he'd learned from her and contradicting her when she said that she thought of herself as a burden. He wanted so badly to tell her that he loved her in the hopes that she'd reciprocate. He didn't quite have the courage so instead, he pulled the typical playboy move, faking a cramp to pull her closer.

They stared into one another's eyes for a long moment, Lee thinking that maybe if he kissed her, just kissed her, not a passionate kiss like the ones they'd shared so many times in the throes of passion, but one of devotion, she'd get it and she wouldn't be so stubborn about sharing her own feelings. He was almost there when they heard the sound of shouting in the dark, startling both of them, the moment gone.

Lee groaned in frustration after their fight about their sleeping positions and it occurred to him that as many times as they'd slept together, they'd never actually _slept_ together, so that's something he'd never known about her, that she liked to sleep on her left side. If he weren't so annoyed with her for being such a chicken-shit about owning up to her feelings, he'd have suggested that they switch sides allowing them both to be comfortable and fall asleep in each other's arms. Instead, he rigidly stayed in place, silently fuming until he fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

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Once Sacker and his men were rounded up and they were back at the agency, they chatted, lightly bantering about their "picnic" until they reached the corridor outside the bullpen and Amanda with a much more serious look on her face began, "About last night..." wanting another chance to find her courage to try again to express her feelings.

"I know, I know," Lee said nodding his head, knowing what was coming next.

"It was two people...Just..."

"Just two people seeking a little warmth," Lee interjected, his voice overlapping hers, figuring that she was going to try to back out of owning up the near-intimate moment they'd shared in the swamp.

"Not exactly," Amanda said with a sly grin as she headed to the elevator.

Lee looked after her a bemused look on his face wondering what the hell had just happened.


	52. Love in an Elevator

**Chapter 52-Love In An Elevator**

"Reach For the Sky"

After their conversation about Billy's mystery phone call with Allen Aghaney while they stood in the corridor waiting for the elevator, Lee stopped Amanda's words with, "Before you become so enthused, this is not a "we" case, this is a "me" case." He looked at her sternly wanting to keep her out of whatever potential danger Billy was in.

As they debated a bit longer and he firmly reminded Amanda that he was unofficial, her response of, "Look, who could be more unofficial than me?" stopped him cold for a moment. How she was always able to leave him completely speechless was something that never ceased to amaze him. By the time he'd regained his composure, she was already in the elevator leading to the ground floor. With a shake of his head, he sighed, got into the elevator with her and conceded, "You're right."

As they rode the elevator, he couldn't help stealing little glances at her, the smug grin of hers making him crazy on more than one level. On one hand, it infuriated him to no end when she gloated about being right, but on the other it set that all-too-familiar fire blazing within him again. He quickly averted his eyes when she caught his stare and glanced up to the surveillance camera in the corner of the confined space. God, what he wouldn't do to wipe that smirk off her face if they weren't being watched right now... After all, the coats hanging around them would make perfect padding for such activities...

He carefully examined the camera and its wiring, wondering just how difficult it would be to disable it, thinking that he could always hit the emergency stop button and make his fantasy a reality, but before he could get much further with his thoughts, Amanda beat him to the punch with a testy... "Oh, here..." as she pointed to the barely concealed wiring that ran along just the edge of the bar from which the coats dangled.

"Here what?" Lee asked obtusely as he tried his best to look innocent.

Amanda fixed him with a stern gaze as she slapped the emergency stop button with the heel of her hand. "Like I don't know what you're thinking about? It's written all over your face." She stared him down her hands on her hips.

"How do you know what I'm thinking about?" He challenged as he edged a bit closer to her and added in a low growl, "Unless you're thinking it too," his eyes twinkling in merriment.

"Back off, Buster," Amanda protested and planted her hands firmly against his chest. "At least until you do something about that camera." She pointed for emphasis at the offending spy that was intruding on the moment. "I don't particularly care to be the next topic of gossip around the steno pool."

Lee gaped at her in open-mouthed shocked and unable to form a coherent thought, pushed the button to start the elevator back up again. Which was probably a good thing because as long as it had been off, it would have set off the alarm within moments anyway.

"Chicken," Amanda snorted as she turned to face the doors again.

Lee stepped in front of her, slamming his fist into the button. "Did you just call me chicken?" He glared down at her, eyes blazing.

She rose up on her toes meeting his challenging gaze and fired back, "You heard me!"

"That is SO childish!" He countered as he inched closer to her backing her up into the coats and himself closer to the camera's hidden wire.

"So is not admitting to what you really want," Amanda retorted, her face scant inches from his.

"What I really wa-" Looking into her burning eyes, Lee couldn't even think clearly anymore and in one smooth move, yanked firmly on the camera's cable hearing the satisfying hiss of sparks flying as he used his other arm to pull her to him and capture her lips in a fiery kiss, the sparks flying between them hotter than the ones from disabling the camera.

Amanda let out a low moan and slid her fingers up into his hair as he backed her up against the side of the elevator compartment, the coats cushioning her back as he tugged at the buttons of her blouse. "Easy," she gasped as she tore her mouth from his. "You're hard on my wardrobe and we still have to get past Mrs. Marston."

Lee used the opportunity to lower his lips to the tender spot just below her ear, growling in satisfaction at the low purr it brought forth from her throat as he yanked her blouse from her pants and began working on her buttons from top to bottom, trailing his mouth downward to each new patch of skin he exposed. "'Manda," he murmured against her stomach as he worked her belt loose, flicked open the button of her pants, slowly eased her zipper down and then slid his hand inside her pants to cup her bottom and pull her closer to him the scent of her arousal already driving him crazy. He paused for a moment to look up at her only to see her gazing down at him with a why-the-hell-did-you-stop look, giving him all the encouragement that he needed.

He bent lower to raise her left foot in order to slide one of her white high-heeled pumps from her heel, tossed it aside, then once finished with that, repeated the move with her right foot before resuming the task he'd begun with her pants while she leaned forward and tugged impatiently at his tie, yanking it free and dropping it to the floor she then began furiously working on the buttons of his dress shirt sliding her hands inside to caress his bare chest immensely grateful that he'd long ago stopped wearing those stupid vests and that he never wore a tee beneath his work shirts.

"Lee, stop a second," she scolded as she her found efforts thwarted by Lee's arms being busy trying to push her pants down her hips while she was trying to get his jacket and shirt off him.

"Mm-mm," he murmured against the skin of her stomach as he finally slipped her pants down her long, slender legs and dragged her panties with them.

"Lee," she whimpered desperately wanting to touch him, but all conscious thought was lost as she felt his hands gripping her bottom and his warm mouth suckling at her center. "Lee," she hissed, gripping his head, sliding her fingers through his silken hair and throwing her head back against the coats as he increased the pressure setting bells ringing in her ears as her body began to convulse against him with the force of her orgasm.

Her eyes were still shut tight, her body still shaking, her heart still pounding from her release when she heard the faint rasp of a zipper and then his voice demanding, "Amanda, look at me."

When her eyes fluttered open, Lee moved one hand to her thigh to lift it up onto his hip and slid his hard length inside her watching her eyes darken as he did so and giving her a smug grin much like the one she'd worn earlier. "Yes," he groaned as he pushed deeper into her.

Amanda locked her arms around his neck and pulled him to her for a searing kiss as she pushed against the wall to drive him on, needing the completion that she knew only he could give her, the bells still ringing in her ears. "Oh, Lee," she cried out as he gave her what she needed driving up to meet her as she pushed against him every time, their sighs and moans intermingling as their frenzied coupling continued until neither could hold on any longer and they tumbled over the edge and onto the floor of the elevator together, yanking several of the coats down with them, sending both into a fit of laughter amid their already heavy breathing and racing hearts.

Once he had caught his breath, Lee finally gasped out, "Well, I don't think we'll be trying that one again anytime soon."

It was then that Amanda realized that the ringing was still ongoing and was the sound of an alarm. "Oh my gosh," she exclaimed. "We set off some kind of alarm."

"Relax, Amanda," Lee said in a soothing tone as he held her close to him and stroked her hair. "it's just because we the elevator's been stopped for more than five minutes, but we really should get straightened up here before security comes to check things out." He then grinned at her. "After all, you don't particularly care to be the next topic of gossip around the steno pool...right?"

Amanda slapped his bare chest, violently tossed aside the coats that had partially buried her, rose to her feet and began to pull her clothes back on. "You can be a real jerk sometimes."

Lee laughed heartily as he too rose and slapped playfully at her bottom, then began working on straightening his clothes as well.

"Oh my gosh, How am I going to explain my smudged make-up when I get out there?" She then looked at Lee, then around the elevator's cabin as she buttoned her pants, while Lee did the same with his shirt.

"Hmmm...good point," Lee commented as he began to work on his tie.

"Hey, wait a minute," Amanda exclaimed as she pulled on her blouse. "Don't do your tie."

"What? Why?"

"If we both go out there looking a mess-"

"If we both go out there looking a mess," Lee interrupted, "Then Mrs. Marston will KNOW something was up."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"Just trust me," Amanda told him with a conspiratorial smile.

"I don't like that look," Lee said suspiciously. That exact look is what had gotten them into their current predicament.

"Look, just leave everything to me. I've got an idea that will work, I promise" Amanda assured him as she buttoned the last button on her blouse, but purposely left it un-tucked, then walked to Lee and un-tucked his shirt. "And don't put your jacket back on. Just carry it out there, okay?"

"Okay-ay," he replied, still eyeing her warily.

"You ready?"

"I guess," He shrugged.

"Just follow my lead," Amanda then hit the emergency stop button and mentally prepared to put her plan in motion while waiting for the doors to open. the moment they did, she barreled out and in a high-pitched squeak, said, "Mrs. Marston, I must insist that you get maintenance out here on the double."

"Mrs. King, what happened to you two," Mrs. Marston inquired as she peered at the pair over the top of her glasses.

"What happened to us?" Amanda shrieked. "I'll TELL you what happened to us. We have been stuck in that...that...that..." she waved her arms wildly at the elevator..."that thing...forever... and the air-conditioning cut off and I'm sure the air supply too. I mean, just look at my make-up and how runny it is and...and Mr. Stetson's shirt...it's drenched because the poor man was just pouring sweat. And the alarm was going off and there were sparks flying and we couldn't breathe! It was like we were suffocating! We could have died in there and did anyone care? No! No one cared!" She dramatically buried her face in her hands and then quickly raised her head, and stated dramatically, "I'm sorry...I have to go clean myself up now." She then raced up the stairs and slammed the door behind her.

"Is this true, Mr. Stetson," Mrs. Marston asked.

"Every word," He nodded as he slowly ascended the stairs. "Like she said, you'd better get maintenance on it right away." He then paused on the stairs, and added, "Oh, and security, the surveillance camera shorted out while we were stuck in there too." As Mrs. Marston turned away and Lee continued up the stairs, he shook his head and muttered, "Ham," but still he couldn't help admiring her creativity.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You know, it's kind of funny that we never met back then," Lee mused in a different elevator the next day.

"Oh, we did," Amanda corrected him.

Lee stopped in his task of working on the lock and stared at her. "What?"

"Oh yeah. It took me a long time to figure it out...but we did. It was a very awkward double date. You were dating one of my sisters...Dina Montrose..."

"Dina..." Lee said with a fond smile at the memory.

"He-ey!' Amanda protested loudly. "You also called me stupid that night!"

"No...no way...Not if I knew you...I'd never have called you stupid."

"You most certainly did! Joe and I were talking about our wedding plans and you said we were both stupid for getting married so young! Then Dina called you...well...let's just say...a not-very-nice name and stormed out, then you went chasing after her."

"Okay, THAT...I remember!" He looked at her curiously. "That was you?"

"Mm-hmm. Then we ran into each other again later that night when Dina was trying to sneak you out of the Kappa house at the same time that I was trying to sneak Joe out of the house."

"Right...You called me a jerk."

She nodded. "I did...and you _were_ a jerk."

"Or..." he paused for emphasis, "Maybe I was right." Then turned back to his task.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, you are divorced now, aren't you?" He replied without turning around.

"Yes, but it was better that we did get married because what I didn't know until a while later is that that was also the night that Phillip was conceived," she fired back at him.

Lee whipped around angrily and snapped, "Okay, that is WAY more information than I wanted to know."

Just as she had in the elevator at the agency, she rose up on her toes to meet his gaze. "Oho! Well, do you think I really want to know about all your black books?"

Lee sighed and conceded. "Touché" Turning back to the lock again, he was finally successful at opening it. "So, Amanda, do you think you can pull some of your magic like you did with Mrs. Marston?" He smiled warmly at her.

"With pleasure," she answered smiling back.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lee and Amanda exchanged a smile at Billy's "yelling" at Francine in the background when Jill asked them, "So, I heard about your caper in the elevator the other day." causing their smiles to abruptly fade as they then exchanged worried glances. At seeing their looks she inquired, "Was it really that bad?

I mean, Mrs. Marston said you nearly suffocated, but you know how she exaggerates."

Lee and Amanda quickly looked away from each other so as not to give themselves away while Lee forced a shudder and answered, "Awful," and Amanda simultaneously replied, "Terrifying," with a shake of her head.

"Did they ever figure out what happened?" Jill asked.

Lee grinned. "Well, you just never know with Francine in charge."

Amanda chimed in, "You know, that's true, I mean...she's really good with the administrative stuff, but what does she know about building maintenance?"

"Or building security."

"You know, Lee, maybe we should bring that up to Mr. Melrose."

"You know, I'm thinking you're right," Lee agreed.

As they walked away from Jill's desk, Amanda whispered to him, "You know you coulda' just jiggled the blue wire."


	53. This is Free

**Chapter 53-This is Free**

"J. Edgar's Ghost"

Once again, Lee found himself partially irked and partially aroused by the gloating smirk on his partner's face as she leaned across his desk nose to nose with him, her flirting come-hither look making him crazy. She was close enough to kiss and she knew it, knew that _he_ knew it and damn it, knew that he'd like nothing better than to take the bait. He felt himself leaning closer without conscious thought until a voice in his head goaded him, _Are you really going to let her win again, _and he abruptly pulled back, snatched the offending photo from the desk, held it up and said, "So, this is free, huh?"

"Uh-huh," Amanda answered as she sauntered around the desk with a sway of her hips. "Absolutely one-hundred percent free."

"But just so we're clear, I have to _pay_ for the negative," He questioned with a dimpled smirk as he dropped the photo, leaned back in his chair, folding his arms behind his head and propping his long legs up on the desk.

"That's how it works," Amanda responded with a firm nod and a flirtatious smile.

"Tsk, I don't know, you want dinner at Spencer's, that's doable, but..." Lee replied with a shake of his head, "...Spencer's is an awfully pricey joint. You're gonna' have to sweeten the pot a bit. I think I'm gonna' have to insist you throw in something else for free...like say..." He shot her a mischievous grin, "..dessert?"

"Dessert?" she questioned innocently as she perched on the edge of his desk, her thigh brushing against his calf. "What kind of...dessert?" She flicked her tongue against her lips her voice coming out as a low purr on the last word.

Lee yanked his legs back from the desk and sat up again and leaned toward her, wiggling his eyebrows at her and saying in a low, husky voice, "You _know_ what kind of dessert."

Bracing one hand on the arm of Lee's chair, she leaned in and purred, "Do I?"

"Don't play dumb now, there's a reason your name was never in my black books," Lee retorted. "Besides, weren't you the one who called me a jerk just last week for calling you stupid over a decade ago?"

"Like you said, maybe you were right," she cooed as she leaned closer and was just about to make her move when they were both startled by the door opening behind them.

Amanda quickly jumped to her feet while Lee snatched the photo with one hand while opening the top drawer of the desk with the other and smoothly slid it inside, while Amanda tried to look as if she'd just been innocently looking over his shoulder at a file on his desk the whole time, just as Francine fully entered the room with a file in hand and said, "Hey, Billy wants to know how far along you are with your report on Hoover's secret files." At seeing the guilty looks on both of their faces and Amanda trying to stifle a giggle, she raised her eyebrows and asked pointedly, "Am I interrupting something?" _Gotcha' _she thought smugly.

"No," Lee answered with a noncommittal shrug. "What would you have been interrupting? And what do you mean, Billy wants our report? I put it in your inbox an hour ago..." He then gave her a malicious grin and added, "Or are you still too busy playing catch-up from the mess you made trying to play boss last week to notice?"

"Okay, fine, I admit it! I didn't come up here for the Hoover report," Francine snapped and slammed her file in front of him. "I came up here for this!"

"What is it?" Amanda questioned as she looked over Lee's shoulder just as he opened the file and still trying to stifle the laughter that threatened to spill out at the image of the perfectly coiffed, composed Francine standing before her compared with the not-so-composed, definitely un-coiffed and obviously drunk Francine in the photo still visible to her in Lee's partially open drawer.

"That is proof-positive that your little elevator caper is one mess that I did NOT make," Francine crowed gleefully. "It's the report from maintenance after they fixed the mess YOU two made of the elevator. Now, as you told everyone who would listen last week, I may be no expert on maintenance, but I do know how to read and it says very clearly that there was NO malfunction that caused the elevator to stop...The emergency button was pushed manually...not once...but twice. So...being the highly skilled agent that I am...I took it upon myself to have that button checked for fingerprints and security found exactly two sets. You two wanna' take a guess whose they were?"

Lee and Amanda looked at one another and Amanda no longer able to control herself, finally let loose in a fit of the giggles, much to Lee's consternation who hissed at her, "Would you stop that?' He then rose to meet Francine's cool gaze as he leaned across the desk to glower at her menacingly and growled, "What do you want?"

"I want a public apology and an admission that you intentionally disabled the elevator for the sole purpose of-"

"For the sole purpose of what, Francine?" Amanda questioned in a more serious tone, her laughter ceasing instantly once it hit her what they were up against.

"Don't play dumb, Amanda, I'm better at it than you are," Francine retorted.

Lee chortled at that. "She's got you there. When she has to, she can play the dumb blond card better than anyone I've ever seen."

"Was _she_ ever in your black books?" Amanda teased.

Lee cleared his throat loudly, looked down at his desk and muttered, "Pleading the fifth here." At seeing his partially-opened desk drawer, inspiration struck... "As for your little attempt at blackmail, Francine..." He slid the photo from its hiding place and lightly fingered its edges as he looked up at her with a grin... "Forget it."

"Well, then..." She snatched her file from the desk and threatened, "I'll just make this..." she waved it at him menacingly, "...public."

He whipped the photo around, "Then I'll do the same with this."

"Oh!" Amanda whimpered, her blackmail leverage now gone while Francine gasped in horror, "You wouldn't?"

"Oh...I would."

"If I go down for that one...so do you," Francine reminded him.

"True, but it would be worth it...because with my reputation...people wouldn't be too shocked seeing this from me." He kicked back into his chair and looked up smugly ad her as he fingered the edges of the photo. "Now you...you on the other hand...The executive assistant to the section chief who's being carefully groomed to take his place one day and who also just spent days stepping into one blunder after another..."

"Fine!" Francine snapped as she turned on her heel and left the room in a huff, Lee laughing heartily while a perturbed Amanda glared at him.

"Why did you do that?" Amanda demanded.

"Oh, come on, Amanda! Did you see the look on her face? It was priceless!" He rose from his seat and clapped her on the shoulder. "Come on, don't tell you me you didn't get just a little bit of enjoyment out of seeing that." When Amanda still frowned at him and folded her arms across her chest, he cajoled her in a sweeter tone, "Amanda...? You know you did. You're just mad that you don't have anything to blackmail me with anymore."

"Oh...all right I did and you're right, I am a little annoyed that you shot a hole in my little scheme...because it was fun." She lowered her arms and gave him a half-smile.

"Well, that doesn't mean I can't still take you to dinner," He suggested. "Followed by..." He winked at her and grinned broadly, "...dessert?"

"What kind of dessert?" Amanda asked innocently as she moved across the room to locked the door and picked up their game where they'd left off before Francine had interrupted. She then sashayed back toward him. "Because you know, depending on the type of dessert...I might just want it first..." She then ran her hands slowly up his chest until they rested on his broad shoulders.

"Oh?" he replied as he slid his hands to her hips.

"Mm-hmm," Amanda replied as she tilted her head toward him invitingly.

"Hmm...I don't know...some desserts are more..." He pulled her hips flush against her own, "..._filling _than others."

"Those type of desserts always make me work up an appetite," Amanda responded as she licked her lips seductively.

Unable to take the teasing any longer, Lee captured her lips with his own, his hands roughly yanking her blouse from her pants to caress the heated skin beneath. He felt a pleasant shiver go through him as the tongue that had been teasing him darted into his mouth dueling with his own, her moan of pleasure mingling with his own. He turned them both around so that she was backed up against the credenza as he began working loose the buttons of her blouse.

Amanda tugged at Lee's already loosened tie, finishing the job that he'd started on earlier and flung it aside, letting out a gasp as she felt his hands grasping her breasts, his thumbs caressing her nipples through the lace of her bra as he lowered his lips to nip at her earlobe, his hot breath in her ear sending shivers up her spine while she worked furiously on the buttons of his dress shirt feeling a great need to touch him as well. During their last encounter, she hadn't gotten to do much of that due to the frenzied nature of their coupling. When she reached the bottom button and was thwarted by his pants, she yanked on his belt buckle, but was hampered by him reaching for her again to pull her in for another deep, probing kiss.

She pushed on his chest and protested in a throaty whisper, "Lee..."

"What?" He gave her a devilish look. "I thought you wanted dessert,"

"Oh, I do...I definitely do...but on _my_ terms..." she fired back as she tried desperately to catch her breath and slow her pounding heart.

He moved back toward her, hips first brushing his erection against her, his eyes dancing in amusement, "Have you forgotten, you no longer have any leverage?"

"Wanna' bet?" she challenged him as she pushed with all her might on the firm wall of his bare chest, causing him to topple backward on the desk into an awkward half-sitting, half-leaning position. Wasting no time, she used her advantage to park herself in his vacated chair to finished the job she'd begin on his belt and boldly stroked him through the thin material of his dress pants causing him to emit a low groan. "Do you wanna' talk about what kind of leverage I've got now?" She then unbuttoned his pants and slowly eased his zipper down, sliding her hand inside to grip him firmly though his silk boxers. "Or how about now?"

"Oh, God," he cried out throwing his head back as she ran her hand up and down his length.

"No..." she drawled slowly as she rose and hovered over him, her lips a breath away from his bare chest. "...Amanda," she whispered into his skin before running her tongue down his torso and then with both hands firmly yanked his boxers down and clamped her mouth around his shaft causing him to emit a loud groan.

"'Manda!" he cried as he wound his fingers into her dark thick curls, his breathing becoming labored, his heart racing uncontrollably as she worked her mouth up and down, using varying degrees of pressure, taking him deeper with one stroke and the barely holding him at all with the next as she flicked her tongue against just the tip.

Amanda reached to cup his balls and at feeling them tighten her hand, pulled back, stood fully upright, grinned at him and asked sweetly, "Now, what were you saying about me having no leverage."

Gaping at her, a look of utter horror on his face, Lee sat up as he tried to catch his breath and panted, "That...was...dirty."

"Mm-mm," she responded with a wave of her finger as if scolding one of her children. then with a smug smile, added, "Not yet anyway."

Pursing his lips, Lee gave her a menacing look and replied, "You do know that you're gonna' pay for that, right?"

A look of mock fear in her eyes, Amanda darted away from the desk and to the other side of it with, "Oh, no! What am I going to do now?"

Lee attempted to catch her, but as soon as he rose from the desk, his pants dropped to his knees, causing him to falter and Amanda to burst into another fit of the giggles. "You think this is hilarious, don't you?" This only caused her to laugh harder as Lee yanked his pants up just enough to get around to her side of the desk and pin her against it with his hips while he used his free arm to sweep its contents into the floor, her laughter dying at the scorching look in his eyes. No longer caring if his pants fell down again, her braced one hand against the desk on either side of her, ground his hips against hers and said in a hoarse whisper, "So, what ARE you going to do?"

Amanda's answer was to step out of her heels, slide her hands up his chest to his shoulders and nod her head toward him in open invitation. Shaking his head at the realization that he'd still lost, Lee had no other option but to comply with her wishes, leaned in and kissed her firmly while his hands moved from the desk and expertly opened the button on her pants, followed by her zipper, then dragged them down along with her satiny panties. Pulling back from their heated kiss, he then cupped her bottom to ease her up onto the desk to pull them the rest of the way down her legs and discard them.

"You know, this would be a whole lot easier if you'd start wearing skirts again like you used to," he grumbled.

Amanda laughed softly, "Look who's talking, vest guy."

"Hey, I quit wearing those a long time ago, " he reminded her. "For you, I might add...because you complained about them, so the least you can do for me is wear a damn skir-."

"Lee?" Amanda cut him off.

"What?"

"Do you really want to talk about this...wardrobe choices...now?" She then shimmied out of her blouse, unhooked her bra and slipped it down her shoulders, now fully naked before him. "I mean, wouldn't you prefer no wardrobe at all?" She then pushed his dress shirt from his shoulders. "I know that I would." She lightly ran he hands over the smooth taut muscles of his chest, grazed his nipples with her fingernails before trailing her hands lower, down his stomach then even lower...

"Ohhh," he groaned as she held him in her long slender fingers, exerting just enough force to drive him crazy, but not enough to drive him over the edge. Finally having enough of her teasing, he took charge, removed her hand from his member, gripped her hips tightly, pulled her against him and pushed into her as hard as he could an arrogant grin crossing his face at the look of surprise and wonder in her eyes at that move.

"YES!' She hissed at the feeling of his hardness inside her as she hooked one leg behind him to encourage him to continue and let out a frustrated whimper when he only stood there staring at her. "Lee," she pleaded.

"Yes?"

"Lee, please," her voice became more desperate.

"Please what?" he asked her, his passion-glazed eyes boring into hers. when she didn't answer, he demanded, "Tell me, Amanda. Tell me what you want me to do you."

"I-I-I need y-y-you inside me," she stammered.

Lee pushed against her just once, leaned in and growled low in her ear, "I AM inside you. What else?"

"Please, Lee, just do it," Amanda begged him as she grasped his shoulders tightly in an attempt to pull him closer. "Please make love to me."

Lee pulled back just to grin at her smugly. "Now, was that so hard?"

Amanda unable to resist the open initiation he'd left laying there fired back, "no, but I know something else that is," as she leaned back just enough to push her hips against him.

Lee couldn't help laughing at her ability to turn the tables on him, but he had to admit that he needed her just as much as she needed him. Their fore-word-play making him hotter for her than their physical interactions. He skimmed his fingers down the soft skin of her back an then pulled her to him, finally giving them what they both wanted, pushing himself deeper into her, letting out a long slow sigh as he did so, rewarded by hearing hers echoed back at him.

They locked eyes as they moved together alternately pushing and pulling against one another, the old wood of the desk creaking as their motion became more frenzied and the urgent need from completion overtook them, culminating in a loud cries of relapse from both of them and a louder crack from the desk as Lee unable to stand upright any longer with the sheer force of his orgasm, collapsed atop Amanda.

Amanda through her heavy breathing rasped, "I...think...we...broke...something."

Heaving as he too tried to catch his breath, Lee replied as he lifted his head, "Yeah...my back."

Amanda chuckled. "Mine too. After all, I'm the one lying on mine and had a big lug land on me," she pointed out.

"Oh...right." Lee reluctantly pulled away from her, reached for her hand, helped her to her feet and then glowered at the now crack on the desk's surface. "So...you have any more stuff from the Francine Desmond file to use as leverage? I don't know how the hell we're going to explain this one."

"No, but maybe we don't have to. We can just get one of those big desk mat things to cover it up. You know, the kind they make for those big desk calendars?"

Straightening his pants and re-fastening them, he exclaimed, "Amanda, you're brilliant!' He then looked around at the pile of stuff that he'd flung to the floor. "I had one already on the desk." He plucked it from the floor and held it up for her to see.

"Well, then I'd say I've earned that dinner after all, leverage or not," she grinned broadly at him. "After all, that's now two things you've gotten for free."


	54. Light of the Day

**Chapter 54-Light of the Day**

"Flight to Freedom"

Amanda has just started to close her eyes when the annoying flicking sound of a lighter and even more annoying flicker of a candle disturbed her attempt to go to sleep. She popped her head up and gave Lee her best perturbed look over the top of the table between them and questioned, "Shouldn't it be dark in here?"

Nervously fidgeting, Lee stammered, "Heh...uh...I-I...uh...like to sleep with a...a light." He glanced at her warily uncertain of her reaction to such a revelation as he knew in a way he'd always been her hero in a way and he liked that she saw him that way. He'd always tried to keep up that hero bravado around her, the facade that said he wasn't afraid of anything, but yet somehow...somehow, she always pulled things out of him that he didn't want to reveal and now he wasn't sure how to feel about it. Would this change things between them? He'd never shared that bit of himself with anyone; he'd never needed to. There's never been enough women spending enough nights with him to worry about it. He cringed inwardly as he thought of how he'd been before meeting Amanda. She seemed not to mind though. The real question became, could she handle the little quirky things about him or would they drive her crazy?

Amanda made a sour face. "You like to sleep with a light on?" _Yikes! _she thought as she began to think about all the times in the past that he'd pleaded with her to spend the whole night with him and she hadn't and now found herself wondering how that would have gone. She knew that she just _couldn't _sleep unless it was completely dark. She bit down on her lower lip as she pondered further wondering how they would handle things if they ever did become serious enough to spend an entire night together. Could she handle it? Could she bend that much? While she was on the subject, could he handle her need to have the window cracked open at night, she had to have the fresh air or she'd wake up in the middle of the night feeling suffocated. It had been so long since she'd shared a bed with anyone except Joe. Now, there had been the few cover assignments with Lee, but except for the one shared room in which they'd fought and he'd stormed out, the issue had never presented itself.

O_kay, so maybe she can't handle it, _he thought glumly.He decided to take a different approach. "Yeah, I like to sleep with a light on," Lee told her with more confidence as if it were the most natural thing in the world, not at all liking the look on her face. He wrapped his blanket around himself like a cocoon and began to explain about his stint trapped in the catacombs in Istanbul but then seeing the horrified look on her face in conjunction with his own bitter memories of it, thought better of it and said, "I don't wanna' give you the details," just as she said, "I don't wanna' hear this."

They said goodnight to one another and he watched as Amanda hunkered down under her own blanket and tried to shake off the dismal memory just as she bolted back up and put out the candle's flame. "Oh, Amanda," he protested.

"I can't sleep with the lights on," she stated simply as she lay back down, but then rose again upon once again hearing the flick of Lee's lighter and in a sharper tone said, "I'm not gonna' get any sleep all night." When Lee smiled smugly at her after re-lighting the candle, she gave him an equally smug grin. "I'll blow it out as soon as you go to sleep."

"Oh, you will, will you," he challenged, his smirk widening as he leaned across the table toward her.

"Bet on it," she countered as she too sat up and met his gaze leaning toward him as well.

"Hmmm..." He paused thoughtfully. "But what if I never go to sleep?"

"You're gonna' stay up all night?" She teased with a light flick of her tongue against her upper lip, her tone taking their banter in a whole new direction.

_Damn it! How does she always do that? _ Lee couldn't help being mesmerized by her suggestive tone, the sparkle in her eyes illuminated by the candle's glow and found himself taking the bait against his will...as usual. Leaning as close as the table between them would allow, he growled in a low voice against her ear, "I have been known to stay 'up' all night a time or two."

She shivered as the sound of his sexy, low voice sent chills up her spine. "_All _night?" she questioned seductively in his ear as she ran one hand up his chest and nipped lightly at his earlobe.

"ALL night," he confirmed with a sigh.

Amanda never knew who moved first, whether he'd pulled her to him, whether she'd pushed him backward or whether they'd simply moved together. The only thing she knew was that one moment they were across from each other leaning on the table and the next, he was on his back atop the blanket that had been wrapped around him with her above him and that they were sharing heated kisses under hers while they groped and tugged at one another's clothing. She shivered slightly as she felt his hands sliding along the skin of her bare back, not even realizing until that moment that he'd worked his hands under her top and unhooked her bra. She broke their kiss and let out a tiny gasp when she felt his hands moving to her front to caress her breasts.

Lee chuckled at the look on her face, the blazing desire in her eyes illuminated by the candle's flame, as he paused in his exploration of her long enough to urge her to raise her arms so he could yank her top over her head. Before moving back to his task, he just gazed for a moment at her now bared torso in front of him, just smiling. She cocked her head and looked at him quizzically. "What?"

Still smiling, he replied, "Nothing."

"No, really, what?" Amana insisted.

"Nothing," he repeated as he grasped her hips, pulling her flush against his erection in an attempt to distract her from his wandering mind. "See? Very _up_."

"Yes," Amanda sighed as Lee began letting his hands wander again. one hands clasping her breast while the other flicked open the button of her jeans, but just as he reached for her zipper, she stopped him with her hand on his and a shake of her head.

"No?"

She leaned over him, running her hands up under his shirt and caressing his bare chest underneath as she did so. When her lips with a hairsbreadth from his, she replied sassily, "Just so we're clear. Don't think I don't know what you're really up to."

"Oh? And what, exactly, is that?"

She tugged on his arms and urged him to lift his torso up enough to pull his shirt off before she pushed him back down. "Distracting me with seduction, maybe thinking you'll wear me out enough that you'll win the light fight."

Lee shook his head as he grasped her hips and thrust his own against hers and grinned. "Haven't you ever heard the old phrase the difference between light and hard is that you can sleep with a light on."

She slapped at him playfully and he reached for her hands and entwined his fingers with hers as they began another round of searing kisses, their hands soon disentangling and tugging at each other's jeans until they reached the point where they had to stop for air and because they were both still wearing shoes. "Damn," she panted as they broke apart quickly untying her sneakers as he worked on his own and they both shucked of their pants, Lee finishing first and he sat on the bench watching Amanda with his eyes dancing in merriment. When she turned to face him with another, "what?" He pulled her into his lap so that she was straddling him as without a word captured one nipple in his mouth while his other hand ran lightly up her back and ground against her. She let out a low hum of pleasure as she rocked against him, bracing her hands on his shoulders, giving into the sensations for a moment before pulling back. Mindful of the still-lit candle she stood, reached for her discarded blanket, wrapped it around herself, tucking the end in like she would a towel after a shower and sat across from him on the table.

"Amanda," he growled in frustration.

"Mm-mm." She wagged a scolding finger at him. "Not until you tell me what that nothing was all about."

"Uh-" She raised an eyebrow at his hesitation followed by folding her arms across her chest and a pointed ;I'm waiting' look. "You'll get mad."

"I'll get madder if you don't tell me," she countered.

"I...uh..."

"Okay, fine," Licking her fingers as she had earlier while Lee watched, she pinched out the candle's flame again and started to rise to make her way back to her own bench.

Lee, having watched her move with her tongue and her fingers and thinking just how damn sexy that move had been grabbed her and pulled her back to him, yanking firmly on her blanket to bare her lithe body to him again and whispered low against her, "Okay, you got me."

"Yeah?" She linked her arms behind his neck.

He sighed, "yes, but if you get mad, don't say I didn't warn you." Again, she raised her eyebrows expectedly. "Okay, okay. I was thinking about the name of this boat...the Mata Hari...and the spy she was named after and how she made me think of you."

She gave him a curious and slightly perturbed look. "An exotic dancer turned spy reminded you of me? I've gotta' hear this one."

"Well, she was a single mother-" Lee thought quickly hoping that would get him out of hot water. "Divorced, you know...and became a spy."

"I don't buy it." She shook her head. "Not the way you were looking at me then."

"Amanda," he whined piteously, as he leaned in to nuzzle her neck but she stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"No, I don't believe it."

"Come on!"

"Mm-mm...Truth.."

Lee sighed, "Fine, you win! Are you happy now?"

Amanda smirked. "I am a woman who enjoys herself very much; sometimes I lose, sometimes I win."

Lee rolled his eyes and explained. "It was because Mata Hari was known for being self-conscious because she had small breasts, okay? That she was very rarely seen without a bra even though she was an exotic dancer."

Amanda burst out laughing. "That's it?"

"What do you mean that's it?"

"_That's_ what you thought I'd be mad about?"

"You mean you're not?" He looked at her in amazement. "I mean, you're not exactly-" Lee decided he'd best quit while he was ahead and clamped his mouth shut tight.

"I'm know I'm not and that's not exactly something I can help, but it's not as if I've ever heard you complain when we're-" Her sentence was cut off by Lee's lips descending on hers. She returned his kiss with equal fervor as she reached between them to guide him into her, both of them sighing as they wrapped their arms around one another. She pulled back from their kiss, and with the light from the doorway above behind her, she had the advantage in the dark room of being able to clearly see his face as they rocked together. The love he felt for her, even though the words were never spoken, was clearly etched all over it as he held her to him and whispered enticing words to her, how much he wanted her, how hard she made him, how good it felt to be inside her.

While they were not the romantic declaration of love she was waiting so patiently for, she knew that it was as close as he could get for now. When he lowered his lips to the tender skin at her neck, she soon found herself echoing similar words to him, how much his touch set her on fire, how he filled her so completely like no man ever had before, how she couldn't get enough of him. She clenched her thighs tighter against his and wrapped her arms around his back clinging tightly to him once she began to feel the tremors of her release begin. "Leeeeee," she hissed as she nipped at his neck.

"Ah, yes, My Mata Hari," Lee urged her on as he slipped a hand between them to stroke her lightly increasing her pleasure until he felt her tightening around him and before he could stop it, himself being pulled along with her, both of them shaking against one another as he erupted inside her and called out her name. "My Amanda," he whispered repeatedly as they rode out the final waves together until neither had anything left to give and Amanda sagged wearily against him peppering his neck and the side of his face with tiny kisses.

When their breathing had finally slowed Amanda pulled back slightly to look at him and said, "You know if you really need to have the light on to sleep, I...uh...I guess I can live with that." She gave him a warm smile that she hoped conveyed that she meant that for more than just tonight.

"You know, Mata Hari means 'Light of the Day,' so as long as I have you with me, I don't think that I need it."


	55. Resistant to Change

**Chapter 55-Resistant to Change**

"The Wrong Way Home"

Lee exchanged a look of surprise with Amanda at hearing the words, "Mr. Prime Minister," uttered from Joe King's lips and for just a brief moment in that shared glance, they were back as they were before, but the moment was gone as Amanda quickly turned her attention back to the father of her children and the grinning man on the bed quoting Mark Twain.

_Damn it, _he cursed mentally as hearing Amanda's, "Joe...Sweetheart..." Lee tuned out the sound of anything but his own thoughts and cringed at her utterance of that word again as he tried to force his eyes away from the bed that they'd made love in just weeks before when they had made a vow to only see each other. Now, due to this damned case, she'd reverted to coolly calling him Mr. Stetson when a mere week ago on the Mata Hari II, she'd been squeaking out his name in the throes of passion. That part he could understand because hadn't he told her "we don't know each other?" But why...why was she calling her ex-husband...a man who'd all but abandoned her and their children, citing her as "resistant to change;" why was she calling him Sweetheart?

_Resistant to change? _He turned that phrase over in his mind for a moment. He vividly recalled teasing her about it in the Q about how she knew how to get what she wanted just like their fight last week over the candle, but in the end, she'd conceded and said he could have it if he really needed it. Or had he been the one to concede? He couldn't keep track anymore. He remembered saying something to her about the meaning of Mata Hari's name, but it was like it had never happened when he again began asking questions about her divorce. Several times in the years they'd been getting to know one another, he'd asked her about it and she'd always clammed up. He'd thought for sure that with him approaching it as needing to know for the case, she couldn't still refuse to give him answers, but she had. She'd rebuffed him again. Didn't she understand that his need to know was more than just job-related?

He thought too of the pain in her eyes at Dooley's when she finally had answered his questions; a pain that still seemed so raw and...and tinged with just a hint of fear. What was she afraid of? She'd quickly covered with that warm smile of hers...or tried to anyway, but that smile...that smiled that he knew so well, this time it didn't quite reach those dark chocolate eyes of hers when she assured him that life had turned out okay, so he'd felt the need to offer something back of his own that "okay" just wasn't good enough for her. He had wanted to offer more; to tell her that he was the guy to give her much more than "okay," but as his miserable luck would have it, the subject of their surveillance showed up right at the wrong moment. No, Joe King was wrong. She wasn't resistant to change at all. She'd given in on the light thing and on telling him what he wanted to know. That gave him some small comfort.

He was pulled from his reverie by an insistent tugging at his hand and Amanda hissing, "Lee."

He looked at Amana quizzically. "Oh, it's Lee, now, is it?"

Amanda gave her an exasperated look and questioned, "weren't you listening? The Prime Minister here was just saying that he's known all along who I am...professionally speaking." She glanced at Joe and quickly said, "I'll explain it all in depth another time," before turning back to Lee and pulling him toward the door. "He was just asking if he and Joe could have a few minutes alone to talk and catch up."

Lee nodded numbly, comforted by the warmth of Amanda's hand in his and the thought of being alone with her, even if it was only for a short time. "Um...yeah...why don't we go make us all some coffee?" he suggested as he ushered Amanda through the double doors of his bedroom and followed quickly behind her, keeping a tight hold of her hand the entire time.

"Sounds great," Joe King nodded with a smile as he closed the bedroom doors behind the pair.

"Well, that is really good news that the Prime Minister is still alive," Amanda gushed excitedly as they reached the kitchen and she released Lee's hand to start the promised pot of coffee. "I mean, they can hardly accuse Joe of murdering a man who's still alive, right?"

"True, but there _was_ still a murder committed, Amanda," Lee pointed out as he scooted up close behind her, "And his fingerprints are still on the murder weapon."

Amanda finished with the task, attempted to turn to face him, but he was so close that she had no room to move in the small space. "Surely, you don't think he's a killer."

"I'll tell you what I think about him." He bent his head to whisper low in her ear, "I think he never deserved you."

Amanda shivered slightly, her breath hitching at Lee being so close, his breath on her skin. "Lee, they're in the next ro-" but her thought was cut off by his lips descending on her neck as his hands yanked the tails of her blouse from her slacks, then before she could fully discern what was happening, he had one hand clasped around her right breast, the other inside her panties stroking her. "Lee," she hissed through clenched teeth, mindful that they were not alone in the apartment. How he'd gotten her clothing undone that quickly, she'd never know. All she knew is that one minute, she was annoyed with him for still thinking that Joe might be a killer, now all she could think about was how he was making her feel. She gripped the countertop for support as the sensations washed over her.

"He _still_ doesn't deserve you," Lee growled in her ear as he removed the hand from her breast long enough to lower his own zipper and press against her, smirking in smug satisfaction at the tiny gasp she let out. "It's me you want, isn't it?" he demanded as he still caressed her intimately.

"Yes," she whispered as she began to tremble uncontrollably. She whimpered in protest when Lee removed his hand. "Lee!"

"Shh, they're in the next room, remember?" He reached for waistband of her dress slacks, shoving them and her panties quickly down her legs, grasped her hips firmly, bending her slightly over the counter and plunged into her, clamping his mouth down on her cardigan-covered shoulder to keep from crying out and alerting the two men in the next room while Amanda buried her face on her right arm for the same reason. Knowing they may not have much time, Lee wasted no time in pulling back and thrusting hard into her again. Keeping one hand firmly on her hip, he moved the other back to the apex between her thighs and began stroking her again, this time determined to push her all the way over the edge.

The dual sensations of having Lee inside her combined with his skilled fingers touching her in all the right ways soon became overwhelming for Amanda and she felt herself convulsing wildly and biting down on her own arm to keep from crying out as wave after wave of pleasure overtook her. She felt as if she might never come down from this high because even as she was reaching her peak, he was still moving within her, advancing and retreating, harder and faster than he ever had until she heard his guttural cry in her ear and felt his warmth flooding into her, but still he didn't stop, simply slowed his movements and to her surprise, placed a tender kiss to her cheek before stilling completely and withdrawing from her.

She released her grip on the counter as she tried to catch her breath and slow her heart rate, hearing the hiss of Lee's zipper and the tinkling sound of his belt being fastened behind her. Coming to her senses, she quickly straightened her own clothing as Lee moved past her to clean himself up a bit at the sink while she rummaged through his cabinets for coffee mugs and began to assemble a serving tray for when the coffee was done, not another word spoken between them as they heard the double doors of the bedroom being opened behind them.

As they heard Joe and Shamba exiting the bedroom, Lee quickly called, "Just go ahead and make yourselves at home in the living room. We'll be right in." Lee then busied himself with helping Amanda prepare the serving tray, taking great satisfaction in knowing that Joe King was watching every move like a hawk and seeing them sharing this moment of domesticity like those he'd walked out on; further proof that he could give Amanda what she wanted and what Joe had not.

As they put the finishing touches on it, and he carried it to the living room with a, "Here we are," it gave him another wave of satisfaction as Amanda ran her hand along his back as she passed by him to take a seat on the sofa. He glanced briefly at her, noticing that she'd positioned herself as far from Joe as she could on the large sectional sofa but of course, couldn't help also noticing the huge Cheshire-cat grin the spread across her face; that 'gotcha'" look she wore so often when she caught him in a moment of jealousy, this time over his obvious need to possess her. He knew he was caught, but he wouldn't change it. He had needed her in that moment, needed to know that she needed him. She'd known it and in knowing it, had given them both the release they'd needed of more than just the physical variety.

He turned his attention away and began doling out coffee cups only to see Joe giving him a curious arched eyebrow. Knowing that Joe had seen Amanda touching him and the looks that had passed between them, he responded with a smug grin. Joe turned his gaze briefly to Amanda, who seemed not to notice as her focus was still solely on the man across from him. Swallowing hard, he quickly glanced back to Lee, giving him a nearly imperceptible nod, the two men reaching an unspoken understanding before getting down to the business at hand.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nursing his beer at the bar, Lee smiled triumphantly because of having seen Amanda turn from her ex just to smile at him. He knew that smile. While she was dancing with _him_, her mind wasn't on him. That smile...this time it reached her eyes...and it was meant for him and him alone; the "life has turned out okay" smile and this time, he knew she meant it. He glanced back over at the pair again and, thought once more, _Joe King, you were wrong. She's not resistant to change at all. _


	56. Hope You Like Instant

**Chapter 56-Hope You Like Instant**

"Fast Food For Thought"

Lee let out a deep sigh of frustration as he lay on his back staring at the cracks in the ceiling of his cheap motel room, stewing over Francine's ill-timed appearance in the hallway. Not only that, but her ill-timed knock on his door earlier in the evening. He thought that he and Amanda were just about to work through his faux pas of booking them as brother and sister when as luck would have it, there she was. Then just as he and Amanda were starting to feel like _them_ again with their flirty banter about field experience to the point that Amanda had invited him into her room for "instant coffee," damn it, there she was _**again**_.

Was she doing it on purpose? He thought back to her almost cat-like grin when she'd said goodnight and told them she'd knock on BOTH their doors early as well as to all the recent times that she'd been insinuating that she knew there was something between them and couldn't help thinking that it was intentional, just to keep them apart. Was it jealousy? Was she still harboring resentment over their long-ago break-up? Or was there more to it than that? Was it simply professional jealousy because Amanda, the rookie, as she called her, got out of the office more than she did?

"Screw this," he grumbled as he flung the covers back, hauled himself out of bed and pulled on his robe, cinching it tight. Francine or no Francine, he was going to take Amanda up on her offer. Damn it, they were both adults and it wasn't any of her business. He slid his feet into his slippers, dropped his room key into the pocket of his robe and crept to the door, easing it open a crack. He waited for just a moment, sure that any second, Francine's door would burst open again as it had before. When it didn't, he breathed a sigh of relief and hurried across the hall and lightly tapped on Amanda's door and whispered her name, "Amanda?"

Hearing her name, Amanda smiled slightly as she slid out of bed slowly, pulled on her robe and padded to the door. She couldn't resist a bit of teasing, however as she answered, "Who is it?"

"It's me," Lee answered.

"Me who?" she questioned as she bit down on her lower lip to stifle a giggle.

"Amanda," He hissed. "Come on, you know who it is. It's Lee."

She opened the door just a crack and grinned at him. "Oh, you mean, Lee Stimpson...my brother?" she teased.

Lee rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay. But what was that you pulled downstairs with that 'married once, cured forever' bit?"

"Maybe that's how I feel," she fired back. "Especially now that Joe's back in town and I'm reminded of all the reasons we got divorced."

"Oh?"

"Mm-hmm," she answered as she folded her arms across her chest and stared at him.

"So, you two aren't...uh..." He looked down at his feet. "You know maybe this isn't something we should discuss in the hall, especially with Francine right next door." He gave a sideways nod with his head to remind her of their untimely interruption.

Stifling another chuckle at Lee's awkwardness, she conceded, "Fine. Come on in." She opened the door to allow him entrance and then closed it behind him. "We're not what?" she queried to urge him to continue his thought.

"I don't know...I just...the way you two were last week. I wasn't sure where I stood. I mean, sometimes things happen between exes and he's been hanging around that house a lot since then. Plus, this is a guy you used to wear sexy nightgowns for, after all. That's why I signed us up for this thing as brother and sister instead of as a couple like I normally would."

"Well, let me clear a few things up for you. You shouldn't have any issues knowing where you stand since I was having sex with you...with him in the next room to boot. As for him hanging around the house a lot, he's just trying to catch up with the boys and it's honestly been driving me a bit crazy having him around so much, especially with my mother dropping not-so-subtle hints my way and doing everything she can to try to leave us alone together at every given opportunity. Why do you think I jumped at the chance to get away this weekend?"

"I-"

"As for the sexy nightgowns," she continued as she poked a finger into his chest for emphasis. "YOU could have had that this weekend if you hadn't been such a jerk and booked us as brother and sister without asking me how I felt about it first. I actually had one packed, believe it or not since _**I **_thought after last week in your kitchen, I'd made my feelings perfectly clear on not only what I wanted but WHO."

Lee's eyes lit up. "You packed a sexy nightgown...for me?" He slid one hand to her waist in an attempt to pull her closer.

Amanda quickly slithered out of his grasp before he could get a good hold on her, then got just close enough to jab a finger into his chest again. "Just keep your shirt on, Mister! You already blew your chance there!" She then grinned at him. "After all, it would hardly be appropriate for me to wear a sexy nightgown for my brother, now would it?"

"Well, then if you were so pissed about that, then was all that about 'field experience'?"

"I was talking about the job."

"Oh, you were not."

"I was too."

"Were not and you _knew_ that I wasn't either."

"And how exactly would I know that since we _are_ here to work, after all," she replied obtusely.

He glowered at her and realized it would pointless to continue arguing that point. "Okay, fine then, but what about inviting me in for coffee?"

"It seemed like that polite thing to do and you know me, Lee, I'm always polite."

"Oh, please. That 'I hope you like instant' thing was a blatant come on!"

She gestured to the setup in the room and its disposable coffee cups, taking an great amount of pleasure in seeing him squirm. "Observe. Instant coffee!"

"So, you're saying you weren't flirting with me," he challenged as he took a step closer to her, his eyes dancing in amusement.

She shook her head."With my brother? I don't think so."

Lee ran both hands through his hair in frustration and grumbled, "Oh, Amanda, come on! I already explained that, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't. Not really. You said you weren't sure where you stood, which I just pointed out to you was ridiculous because you shouldn't have had ANY doubts about that!"

"I wanted to make you more comfortable by choosing a different type of cover than us being a couple."

Amanda nodded knowingly. "I suppose I can see that. But are you sure that it was to make me more comfortable or was it to make YOU more comfortable?"

He flushed slightly and mumbled, "Okay, maybe a little of that too." He turned from her to escape the intense scrutiny of her gaze for a moment and then with a gesture to the window, cleared his throat loudly. "So, you...uh...All that stuff about sleeping with the window open? That was...uh..." He turned back to face her. "You really do like to sleep with a window open?" He shuffled his feet nervously.

"Spoken by the man who likes to sleep with the light on," she challenged him with a smirk.

"But you said that you could handle that," he protested.

She nodded. "Mm-hmm. And I meant that, but all that...you know babbling about the window..." She let out a sigh, all trace of teasing gone. "I wanted to find out if you could handle you know..." She nodded to the window. "...that."

He chuckled softly, stepped toward her took both of her hands in his and replied, "I guess for all our time together there's still a lot of things that we need to get to know about each other, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess," she answered with a shrug as she looked down at their joined hands slightly, afraid to meet his eyes.

Releasing one of her hands, he tipped her head up so that she was facing him. "Hey, if you can handle my light thing, I can handle your window thing, okay?" When she nodded in acknowledgement, he softly brushed his lips against hers to seal the deal.

Once his lips touched hers, the dam broke and the argument was forgotten. What began as a soft, tender kiss turned into a fiery clash of mouths and tongues as Amanda wrapped one arm around his neck pulling his head down to deepen the kiss and pulled her other hand from his to loosen the belt on his robe. Emitting a low groan, Lee moved in kind, quickly untying Amanda's robe wanting to strip her of it, but he was thwarted by her hands working loose the buttons on his pajama top. Pulling back from their kiss, he clasped her hands in his again for a brief moment as he searched her eyes looking for confirmation that what she'd said was true, that he was the one she wanted to be with.

"Lee..." Amanda's voice took on a desperate edge after the tiff they'd had over their ridiculous cover. All she wanted now was to show him that she felt anything but sisterly toward him.

Hearing his name on her lips in that tone was all it took for Lee to get the message. He released her hands and pushed her robe from her shoulders letting it drop to the floor, but before he could do much more, she was doing the same with his as well as the pajama top, she'd opened. He never knew what to make of Amanda. Just when he thought that he had her figured out... He had no time to give that though another moment though because without warning, he found himself flat on his back on her bed with her above him, trailing kisses down his chest and to his stomach.

"Amanda..." he whispered her name reverently as he closed his eyes and reveled in the sensations she was causing. How could a woman who seemed so demure on the surface be such a firecracker when it came to this? Furthermore, how had he ever been stupid enough to think that things could ever go back to the way they were or that they could successfully pull off a cover as brother and sister when they had such passion for one another? He let out a long, low groan when her nimble fingers wrapped around him inside his pajama pants and began to stroke him.

Hampered by his pants, Amanda couldn't quite do what she wanted so pulled back for a moment, tugged at the waistband and said firmly, "Off."

Lee opened his eyes and raised his hips up to comply with her command and responded in a low drawl, "Yes, Ma'am." He couldn't help grinning at her, nodded at her modest cotton gown and quipped, "I hope that's not your 'sexy nightgown.'" That comment earned him a playful slap on his bare chest as she moved to straddle him, which only made him laugh. "It's okay," he shrugged as he reached for her and ran his hands slowly up her thighs. "It IS the one you were wearing the day we first met, so it's still sexy in my book."

Amanda couldn't help laughing. "I can't believe you remember that," she replied with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"I'll never forget it. You saved my life that day...in more ways than one."

Amanda was stunned into silence with his comment, but soon let out a squeal as Lee flipped her over onto her back and quickly slid her panties down her legs and deposited them onto the floor before urging her to raise her arms so that he could remove her nightgown as well. When that was completed, he lowered his mouth to hers for a sweet, lingering kiss, then moved to trail kisses down her neck, her chest, first one breast, then the other as his hands explored the rest of her, delighting in hearing her sighs of pleasure.

Once again, however, Amanda surprised him and he landed on his back again, this time, pinned to the mattress with one of her hands firmly on his chest as she used the other to guide him into her then wasted no time in locking her knees against his side and pushing against him to drive him deeper inside.

"'Manda..." He growled at her sudden onslaught and began to protest because after their fight, he'd want to take his time to show her how much he didn't think of her as a sister, but the words died on his lips as the overwhelming feeling of being buried deep within her took him over and he was helpless to do anything except follow where she was leading him.

"Yes," Amanda hissed at seeing the acquiescence on his face as ran her hands down his chest and back up again, relishing each reaction she garnered from him. As she began to ride him in earnest, she too soon became overwhelmed with sensation and arched her back as those feelings intensified.

Lee raised his knees up to give her some support and grasped her hips as he bucked against her, the pair moving in tandem to reach their mutual goal. "Oh, Amanda," he cried as he felt her tightening around him, calling out his name as her climax hit her driving him to his own and he felt himself flooding her with his seed as the tumbled over the edge together and she collapsed onto his chest, both their breathing labored and their hearts pounding. He wrapped his arms around her and planted soft kisses to her face and he held her trembling body against his.

A long while later, Amanda raised her head to look him in the eye and questioned with a smirk, "You'll never think of my as your sister again now, will you?"

"Is that what that was about?" When his only answer was the same smirk, he asked, "Are you ever gonna' let me forget this one?"

Amanda pondered the question for a moment. "Not a chance, Mister, " was her cheeky reply.

They laughed together for a moment, but then were both silent when they were startled by a thump from the next room.

"Shit," Lee cursed. Francine...again. Couldn't she ever let them have a moment? He hurriedly clambered out of Amanda's bed and yanked on his PJs and scrambled into his robe.

"Lee," Amanda whispered as she pulled on her own robe. "You don't have to leave, you know. What's she really gonna' do?"

"Turn us in for blowing our cover?" Lee suggested and he shoved his feet back into the slippers that he'd lost when Amanda had knocked him to the bed.

"_Your_ cover," Amanda reminded him.

"OUR cover," Lee corrected. "I gotta' get out of here before she catches us together." He slowly opened the door and cautiously peered outside. "The coast is clear. I'll see you in the morning."

Amanda let out a deep sigh as he disappeared toward his own room and she closed the door behind him. As she moved to pick up her discarded nightgown, she let out a soft chuckle just as she heard him swear again from the hallway. Snatching up his room key that had to have fallen out of his pocket when she'd disrobed him, she walked to the door and opened it to find him on the other side. "Lose something?" She teased as she held it out to him.

"Yeah, thanks." He reached for it, but she held it behind her back out of his grasp. "Amanda!"

"Mm-mm." She shook her head. "I want something first."

"Oh, what's that?" He stood poised with his hands on his hips staring her down as if that would do any good.

"This," she replied as she stood on her toes, snaked her free hand behind his head and kissed him soundly. She then gave him the key. "Just wanted a goodnight kiss since we had a good night together." She then closed the door without another word. She did have to admit that Lee had been right though. If Francine had caught them, she'd never let them forget it. She breathed a sigh of relief that she hadn't.

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Amanda soon found out that they weren't as in the clear as she'd believed as she and Francine stood staring at one another after Francine's awkward "People leave," outburst.

After their even more awkward conversation about the lack of air, Francine seemed to have regained her composure and whipped back around with a look of triumph on her face. "Just so we're clear, don't think I don't know what you and Lee were up to last night."

"Up to?" Amanda questioned, trying to sound innocent.

"Don't give me that innocent act. I saw you and Lee kissing in the hall last night, not that I didn't know what you were up to before then. Why the hell do you think I kept lingering in the hall when you were supposedly saying goodnight? Do you have any idea how dangerous what you're doing is? How easily you could have blown your cover?"

"Can it be any more dangerous than the situation we're in right now? And in case, you hadn't noticed, our cover got blown anyway and so did yours or we wouldn't be in here!"

"Okay, fine, but still, you're supposed to be his sister and you were NOT kissing him like a sister! That was in direct violation of-"

"What, Francine?" Amanda interrupted. "Are you going to turn us in or what?"

"Please! Do I look like a fourth-grade tattletale? Besides, who am I going to tell when we're gonna' die in here anyway?"

"No, we're not, Francine! We're gonna' get out of here. I don't care if you don't believe that Lee will come for us, but I believe it! I believe in him and you should too!"

The two stared at each other and lapsed into silence again.

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After the case was closed, Lee and Amanda shared a laugh at her "once on the lips..." comment. "But really," Amanda explained. "It was also a bit of a bribe because she DID catch us the other night." She then grinned at him again as she stepped into the now open elevator, leaving him once again equal parts dumbfounded and astounded by her.


	57. Bonnie and Clyde

**Chapter 57-Bonnie and Clyde**

"One Bear Dances, One Bear Doesn't"

Francine couldn't believe Lee's nerve at ditching their surveillance operation on Zernov...or to be more specific ditching _her _in favor of Amanda. He'd actually even gone as far as to invite Amanda along while he followed them which left her out in the cold since his car only seated two. She glowered at Amanda, then at Lee, opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but at seeing the cool look Lee gave when he turned his attention from Amanda to her, she thought better of it instead just gaping at him in surprise. Never had she seen him act like this when it came to something this important, all because he was sleeping with the seemingly innocent housewife. She knew all too well that woman was nowhere near as innocent as she appeared to be. Not only that, but she was beginning to suspect that she'd been wrong in her assessment of their ongoing affair. It seemed that Lee was actually falling for Amanda...hard; he'd never have let her come along simply because her mother was involved otherwise, not on an operation this delicate. She let out a deep sigh and shook her head. Maybe she needed to have a talk with Billy about all this and get his perspective on it.

After Amanda had left them, she hurried back home and attempted to catch her mother before she left to talk some sense into her, but found it was no use as they stood in the foyer arguing about it.

"Mother!" she snapped. "Don't you think you're behaving a bit rashly? I mean, you just met this man and now you're going to spend the whole day with him when you don't know anything about him?"

"I do too," Dotty protested. "I know that he's handsome, he's charming, that he is new to this country and needs a friend. I fully intend to be that friend."

"But for all you know, Mother, it could be like one of those novels you read and he could be some KGB spy who is only pretending to defect and really wants to bring down the United States and all we stand for."

Dotty laughed. "Amanda, you're being ridiculous! You've never even read one of them. Besides, you said yourself this morning that you think they're silly."

"I didn't say silly...exactly," Amanda responded, but was interrupted by her mother continuing.

"Besides, do I try to butt into your life?"

"Do you really want me to answer that?" Amanda raised her eyebrows.

"Really? When was the last time that I asked you about you and this...what's his name...Lee whatever-his-name-is? Even though it is quite clear that you're still harboring some feeling that things with him will work out, though I can't imagine why now that Joe's back and seems to have done a complete one-eighty."

"As far as the boys are concerned, yes, Mother, but there is no way that J-"

"And do YOU notice? NO! Why, just last week, that man comes over here, hiding out on the back patio...again, instead of coming to the front door like a normal person and what do you do? You take off with him on yet another 'business' trip, but do I say a word? No."

"Mother, that was work. You know what? I'm not going to have this conversation with you again about Lee. We're co-workers. That's it. And don't you think that trying to turn things around on me is going to stop me from worrying about you and this Dr. Zernov!" Amanda stormed upstairs to her room and was about to slam the door, but then she took a deep breath as she remembered that she still somehow had to figure out a way to get that stupid listening device into her mother's purse so she hurried back down the stairs just in time to see her mother loading up the picnic basket. Pausing for a moment, she changed tones and said, "Oh, Gee, the boys forgot their lunch," as she wrung her hands a bit nervously, then caught herself doing it and quickly stopped knowing that her mother would see right through her.

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Sitting in Lee's car a while later, she gave Lee a glare at his "they're talking about marriage," crack.

"Oh, come on!" Amanda protested as she yanked on the cord to the headphones.

As they listened a while longer, Lee kept stealing glances at while her mother told Zernov about Amanda losing interest in Dean and couldn't help grinning, knowing he was the cause of that interest fading, especially when Dotty brought up IFF. The moment that Dotty West said she thought there was somebody at work, Amanda let out a loud and obviously fake cough and Lee turned to gaze out the window to hide his smirk from her, but then couldn't help glancing back her way again. As luck would have it though, the signal began breaking up and they were forced to leave the confined space of the car and continue their surveillance on foot and go their separate ways. This was probably a good thing, he couldn't help thinking because had it carried on much longer like that, he may not have been able to keep refraining from reminding her just how much they'd begun to mean to each other.

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Later than night, the atmosphere in the same car was a much more somber one as they'd been searching for her mother and Zernov for hours. Lee couldn't help feeling just as worried for Dotty's safety as Amanda in seeing how frightened she was. He couldn't bear to see her hurting like this and if he had to, he would spend all night combing the streets of DC until her found her mother. He let out a sigh, "We're gonna find her, " he assured her.

"I know we are," she responded half-heartedly, wanting to have faith in Lee and in The Agency, but the longer it dragged on, the more hopeless she felt.

Sensing her defeat, Lee offered, "Look, I'll take you home. You can cover that base."

"Yeah."

Feeling despondent and not sure what else to do, Lee reasoned, "It's getting pretty late," but this time when he stole a sideways glance at her, it wasn't with the mirthful feeling of earlier and he wasn't trying to smother a sly grin like earlier. His heart broke for her as he saw that she was trying to disguise her fear.

They rode in silence until they reached the house and he walked her to the front door to make sure that she got in safely. "Listen, if you hear from her, you call me, okay?"

"Yeah," Amanda nodded.

"I mean it," he urged. "Don't even think about going after her alone. It's too dangerous. I don't care what time it is, you hear anything, you call, you got it?"

Again, Amanda nodded, then turned to unlock the front door, but before stepping inside, she turned back to him and said, "Lee?"

"Yeah?"

"I-" How could she say what she was thinking without it coming out wrong? She dreaded walking into that empty house, knowing that her mother wasn't coming home that night. She was just glad that the boys were away on their camping trip so she didn't have to face them to attempt to explain that to them. "What are you going to do now?"

"Keep looking," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Lee, I-" She let out a deep sigh. "I don't wanna be alone tonight." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she wished she could take them back. She didn't want to admit that she needed him.

He took her hands in his and replied softly, "I know you don't, but someone needs to be out there looking for her."

"But what if you were right? What if she calls here? I mean, that would be her first instinct, right? To call me? Let me know she's okay? If you were here when she did, then we could go back out after her together...a team, like we always are."

"Like Bonnie and Clyde?" He teased remembering her crack from earlier in the night when they'd been held up by the local PD.

"Something like that." She couldn't help smiling a bit. "You know, we never did get our coffee date. I...uh...I could make some. Then, you know, if we hear from her, we'll be alert enough to go after her. I mean, you said yourself it's getting late and you've had just as long a day as I've and it wouldn't be right for you to be out there while I'm here sleeping, not that I think I'd be able to sleep a wink anyway because I'm so wor-"

He words were cut off mid-ramble by Lee's lips on hers. It wasn't a passionate kiss like the ones they'd shared in her motel room the week before. It was sweet, full of longing and...and...comfort, Amanda decided as they parted and gazed at one another. "I guess I could come in for a little while. You know, just to keep you company and the coffee does sound good. I have to admit, I could use it after the day we've had."

"Good," she smiled as she turned and finally entered the house, walking straight through to the kitchen and beginning coffee preparations as Lee followed behind her. She took comfort in Lee's hands on her shoulders. She knew that he meant it for just that, but she couldn't help the warmth that flooded through her at his touch. She turned and slid her hands up his chest and tugged on his lapels, needing to be closer to him.

Sensing her intent, he laid his hands over hers and shook his head. "Amanda, no," he stated firmly. "That's not what you need right now." As much as he wanted her, he wouldn't take advantage of her in a vulnerable state.

"Yes, Lee, it is." She pressed her lips softly to his. "I need you." She wrapped her hands around his and began walking backward toward the stairs, urging him to join her.

"Amanda..." he argued weakly as he paused just as they got to the landing. "No, not like this. It wouldn't be right."

"Really, Clyde? That's never seemed to bother you before."

"But this is different..."

"Don't," she whispered with one finger to his lips. "Please..." She then lightly stroked his cheek then slid her hand behind his neck to pull him to her, their lips meeting again.

Any thought of protesting further was banished as Lee gave into his desire for her, his need to hold her, console her. If this was what she really wanted and wouldn't take no for an answer...if this was what she needed to take her mind off of her missing mother, who was he to argue? He let out a groan as her tongue caressed his and her hands pushed the leather jacket from his shoulders. He soon did the same with her sweater as the clung tightly to each other sharing heated kisses as he pressed her lithe body against the banister. Needing precious oxygen, he pulled back from her just long enough to sweep her into his arms and carry her up the stairs to her room.

Once there, they resumed feasting on each other, shedding articles of clothing one by one, her blouse, his dress shirt, her bra, their shoes... As he reached behind her for the zipper on her skirt, he whispered in a low voice, "Have I ever told you how good you look in blue?"

"You might have mentioned it once or twice," she answered delighted at the look she saw on his face as his eyes swept over her half-bare form.

"Maybe I should start calling you Bonnie Blue."

"Don't you dare! That's nearly as bad as saying I'm your sister."

"Well, you're the one who brought up Bonnie and Clyde. I was just going with it."

"Wrong Bonnie, but if you're going with Gone With the Wind, wouldn't we be better suited as Rhett and Scarlett?"

"Frankly, My Dear..." He paused and grinned at her. "On second thought..." He edged the zipper of her skirt down and watched with wide eyes of anticipation as the garment pooled at her feet. "As good as you look in blue, you look even better out of it." He then captured her lips in a fierce, hungry kiss as he lowered her to her bed.

Amanda reached for the zipper on his pants and soon had pushed the offending barrier and the boxers beneath them out of the way as they caressed and teased each other. Lee trailed kisses down her body until he reached the last scrap of fabric between them, her panties. He slowly eased them down her long, slender legs, tossed them aside then returned to her, dipping his head to taste her like he'd wanted to do last week before she'd stopped him. This time, she offered no protest, just let out a gasp of pleasure and ran her hands through his hair as he fed on her, nipping and suckling, increasing the pressure based on her responses. Seeing her so sad earlier and knowing how much she needed this distraction, he wanted to make it the best kind of distraction for her possible.

"Lee," she hissed as the sensations overtook her and she began trembling under his onslaught, unable to help herself in crying out his name repeatedly as he brought her to her peak again and again. Then just when she thought she couldn't take anymore, he'd shift slightly and begin all over again until she let out a loud guttural scream as her body convulsed uncontrollably, her eyes clamped shut against the powerful stimulation, her breath coming in short, shallow pants as he moved back up her body and immersed himself in her.

"Amanda," He growled as he pulled back and eased back in slowly wanting to make it last as long as possible, wanting to see anything on her face except for the worried, fearful look he'd seen earlier. Out and in again, achingly slowly, but the way that she was pushing up against him, arching her back, her legs wrapped around him, drawing him in, he knew he couldn't keep it this way for much longer. When she reached and squeezed his rear, pulling him toward her, he knew it was done and he drove into her harder and faster until he felt himself erupting within her, screaming her name the same way she'd screamed his. He could still hear it reverberating in his head, that primal scream she'd let out, but then he realized that it wasn't from his memory of a moment before, but in the here and now as she was writhing beneath him, his name echoing her cries from before. He collapsed atop her, his heart racing, his whole body aflame as he tried desperately to catch a breath.

"Lee." His name was spoken softly this time as she cradled him against her, her breathing just as heavy as his as they both attempted to compose themselves. "I-"

The shrill ringing of the phone intruded on the moment bringing the harsh reality of the situation home to both of them as Lee abruptly pulled away from her and she scrambled for the phone with a hopeful, "Mother?" Lee felt his heart hurting for her again as he watched her face fall. "Oh, hello, Sir. No, Sir, we haven't heard anything yet or seen any sign of them. Yes, Sir...He's still here...He...um...he just dropped me off and I was going to make sure he had some coffee before he went back out again." Amanda nodded. "Yes, Sir, I'll tell him." Amanda hung up the phone looking dejected.

"Billy?" Lee questioned.

When Amanda looked over at Lee, she saw that he'd already gotten half-dressed again. "Yeah, he wants to see you back at the office." She reached for her robe and pulled it on to cover herself.

""I..uh...I guess that means we still don't get our coffee date, huh?"

"Well, it took Bonnie and Clyde more than one try to get it right, didn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it did."

"Well, come on, I've got a thermos downstairs. I can at least make sure you have coffee for the road because who knows how long you'll be up."

"We'll find her," he promised.

She smiled warmly at him feeling more confident in his words with the look of sheer determination on his face. "I know we will."

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As Lee walked into Billy's office, he heard Francine's shrill voice complaining, "This is exactly what happens when you let an amateur do a professional's job and furthermore, the only reason that sweet, precious Amanda was out there is because Lee-'

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you, Francine," Lee cut in. "If you have something to say about Amanda, say it to me." When she clamped her mouth shut, he nodded. "That's what I thought."

"Oh, I have plenty to say to you, Lee Stetson," she fired back. "But who has time? We have to find Zernov or the whole defection program is at risk."

"I know that, Francine," Lee stated incredulously. "Do you think I don't know the seriousness of all of this? Why do you think I've been out there half the night combing the streets for them?"

"Please!" she scoffed. "You weren't looking for Zernov. You were looking for your little girlfriend's mother!"

"Find her, we find Zernov!" Lee shouted back. "Besides that, has it even occurred to you that she is in a much more dangerous spot than Zernov? He knew what he was getting into. Dotty West didn't!"

Billy rose from his seat with a slam of his fist on his desk to get their attention. "Children! That's enough! This situation is too serious for you two to be bickering over who did or didn't do what. The important thing right now is to find them..." He cast as scolding glance to Francine and added, "BOTH of them!"

"Yes, Sir," Francine conceded.

"Now, Lee," Billy began as he sat back now. "I need your report. What do you know? Is there anything that Amanda told you that we can use?"

"Why didn't you just ask her while you had her on the phone? Or better yet, ask her to come in to tell you herself?" Francine questioned. "That would have made more sense."

"Maybe, but you didn't hear her voice on the phone, how nervous and worried she sounded. The way it seemed that she couldn't catch her breath. It almost seemed as if she was having a panic attack. Making her relive those events would only do more harm than good."

"Couldn't catch her breath, huh?" Francine glowered at Lee. "Gee, I wonder why."

"What are you getting at, Francine? Amanda was worried about her mother, that's it! She was upset. You would be too if it was your mother."

Francine nodded. She had to admit that he had a point, but still, she wasn't at all sure that she liked the changes that she was seeing in Lee under Amanda's influence. He was becoming reckless.

Billy smiled as he watched the two of them and couldn't help thinking of just how much Lee had changed for the better since knowing and becoming involved with Amanda. He gave himself a mental pat on the back for putting them together and that his instincts had paid off. Never before would Lee have ever cared quite so much for the civilian who got caught in the crossfire of an agency investigation. He'd been too reckless for that. This was a good sign. "Well, Scarecrow, I'm waiting..." he said.

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When it was all over and the partners were watching the interviews with Dotty and Zernov, Amanda couldn't help the little giggle when she told Lee that Billy had forbidden her to talk about it. She was going to have some great fun needling her mother about it. Of course, she did have to accept his rightful scolding of her for going after them alone when she'd promised that she wouldn't.

Watching them breaking up the meeting, Lee couldn't resist replying to Zernov's comment to Dotty. Eyes glowing with pride in his partner for figuring things out, he added, "And she has a very special daughter," as he leaned in to kiss her cheek. As he pulled back, he reached to squeeze her hand. "Amanda, I-"

As usual, the moment was not to last as Francine chose that moment to barrel in, "Amanda, Billy wants you to-" The pair hastily broke apart and Francine rolled her eyes at them. "Really? Again?"

"We were just talking Francine," Lee explained as he exited the room, but gave Amanda a wink from behind the blonde just before departing.

"What is it, Francine?" Amanda questioned.

"Billy needs to hear your side of the story for the report."

Amanda nodded. "I'll get right on it." She made her way to the door, but Francine stopped her.

"And Amanda?" When she turned, Francine added, "I'd leave out the details of whatever you and Lee were doing at your house. Just like our little chat in the freezer, there are some things that the agency just doesn't need to know."

"I can keep a secret," Amanda assured her, then grinned and added, "Just call me Bonnie Parker." She left Francine with a dumbfounded look on her face wondering just what that meant.


	58. Double Break Point

**Chapter 58-Double Break Point**

"Playing For Keeps"

Amanda had been half-listening to her mother's conversation with the boys as she tried to get some much-needed rest while fighting the last remnants of the vicious cold that had struck her down, wishing that they'd just cool it so she could get well and feel like herself again. However, when the phone rang and she heard her mother addressing, "Mr. Simpson," she perked right up and held out her hand for the phone. If anything could make her feel better, it was hearing Lee's voice.

Dotty's eyes widened and she let out a little snort of disbelief at her daughter's actions as she handed her the phone. What was it with her and her fascination with this one man, who after two and half years didn't seem any closer to making a real commitment to her than he had in the beginning? Was their sex life _that_ good that she couldn't help wondering. Of course, Amanda wouldn't even admit that there _was_ a sex life between them and kept insisting that he was simply a co-worker.

When Amanda got on the phone, Lee's face fell at the sound of her voice. "Amanda?" He questioned in concern. "You sound terrible."

Dotty watched, hands on her hips as she heard her daughter's end of the conversation and her, "I could probably come in if you want me to." She let out a sigh. What pull did this man have on her that she'd go to work when she looked like Death? She just hoped to God that the man had more sense than to ask something like that of her. She couldn't help noticing the disappointment and just a hint of jealousy when Amanda questioned, "Overnight, out-of-town with Francine, huh?"

On Lee's end, he tried to reassure her, "Uh...I know, I know. I feel the same way, Amanda, but hey, it can't be helped." _Damn it, _he swore to himself. Why couldn't he just come right out and tell her that he loved her? He supposed now wasn't the best time anyway. If she were going with him, maybe... He shook his head as he listened to her questioning him about the assignment. He tried to evade her question, but when she got that stern "Mom" tone in her voice, he knew she wouldn't let him off the hook that easily.

Amanda let out deep sigh as Lee tried desperately to make it sound like it was going to be dull as dishwater, but a weekend at a country club and the fact that he was going to be there with Francine and not her just made her shudder. "Well, you have a good time," she stated with no real enthusiasm as she hung up the phone.

Dotty couldn't contain her curiosity any longer as she leaned against the back of the sofa. "Trouble in paradise?" she questioned.

"Trouble?" Amanda shook her head. "No, no, no trouble."

"Uh-huh," Dotty replied disbelievingly as she folded her arms across his chest. "Then why did you get that look on your face when he said he was going out of town and who is this...Francine?"

"No one, just another co-worker."

"Sure," her mother replied skeptically. "Just like Mr. Simpson is nothing more than a co-worker. I know you, Amanda and I saw that green streak written all over face and NOT from your illness."

"Okay, okay, she's a co-worker that he used to date years ago, but that's all over now...and...uh...since I can't go with this cold and he needs a partner for this new film, he has to take _someone_."

"So it has to be her?"

"Look, Mother, it's just business."

"I see, just like all these overnight trips you've taken with him are "just business?'"

"Yes, Mother, just business," Amanda stated adamantly, but she couldn't help that nagging pinch of doubt as she recalled another overnighter in which he'd made that crack that if Francine had come along... She cringed as she thought of Lee spending the weekend working with Francine and then it occurred to her that she hadn't thought to ask about what cover they'd be using. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they weren't going as a couple. She brightened at that thought and immediately tried to call him back, but found the line in the Q went unanswered. She hung the phone up again and hung her head along with it.

"Just what I thought," Dotty crowed.

"Just business," Amanda repeated, but now she couldn't help wondering.

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"Looked to me like you were kind of...tripping over your own cover story," Francine crowed gleefully.

"Oh, you wish," Lee countered in irritation. It was bad enough that he couldn't have his partner with him when he needed her, but now Francine gloating was only making matters worse.

Knowing she'd gotten to him, Francine couldn't resist keeping it going. "Oooh, touchy, touchy," she replied with a grin before looking away from him again and watching the crowd, then added in a nonchalant tone, "Guess Amanda doesn't point these things out to you."

Lee shook his head at her sly dig at Amanda, but now was not the time to get into another childish verbal sparring match with her. "The point is, she bought your cover, right?" As they made plans for their next move and she walked away, he muttered, "Show-off."

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When Amanda got a call from Lee that evening, it did nothing to allay her concerns because it still seemed that he was trying too hard to convince her that there was no fun to be had on this assignment as he concluded his statement with, "I am bushed...dead on my feet."

"What's the matter? Too many tangos?" She questioned flippantly.

"No, too much Tina," Lee answered in annoyance as he explained to her what was going on while trying to shoo Francine away like an annoying housefly buzzing around his face. Letting out a deep sigh, he finally conceded and handed Francine the phone with a demand of, "Make it short, huh?"

Amanda rolled her eyes as she listened to Francine drone on and on and what a great time she was missing and the dancing they'd been doing.

"Hey!" Lee said repeatedly as he tried to get Francine's attention so he could snatch the phone back from her. "What do you think you're doing? You're blowing my whole gig, here!" He finally wrested the phone from her grasp, offered a quick explanation to Amanda that he had to go and hung up leaving Amanda staring at the phone in consternation.

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After taking down the attempted assassin and doing what he could to find out more about the well-known gun-for-hire because something just didn't feel right to him, as if it wasn't really over yet, Lee undressed and finally dropped onto the bed of his room. Needing to clear the air with Amanda, he reached for the phone to dial her number.

Back in the comfort of her own bed instead of on the couch, Amanda snatched up the phone. "Lee?"

Lee smiled. "Yeah, it's me. I...uh...I just wanted to call to say goodnight and to...um...to apologize for letting Francine ambush you earlier. I swear she said she only wanted to tell you that she was sorry that you're sick."

"Well, she _did_ do that," Amanda commented.

"Amanda, I'm sorry," Lee responded effusively.

"Oh, look, it's not your fault. It was just Francine being..." _A witch, _she thought, but then said instead, "...well...Francine."

"It really hasn't been as exciting without you here," Lee stated honestly. "I wish you were here."

"Yeah?" She perked up.

"Yeah," He assured her. "This country club may be all kinds of fancy, but this big king-sized bed I'm in is...well, it's just..." He dropped his voice lower. "It's kind of a waste without you to share it with."

Amanda squirmed in her bed at his words, his husky-sounding voice sending shockwaves through her. "Oh? And what would you do if I were there with you?"

"I'd make love to you," he stated boldly.

"Mmm...You sure you wouldn't worry about blowing our cover like you were on the Marvin's case?" she teased.

"That was different. Francine was there giving us grief. If you were feeling better, it'd be just the two of us and no need for her to be here."

"Uh-huh. You sure you wouldn't prefer her being there?"

"Not a chance. You're the one I wanted with me. In fact, Francine wanted to come along from the beginning, but I told her I wanted you." In a deeper tone to convey his feelings for her, he added, "I always want you."

"Yeah?"

"Mm-hmm. If you were here, I'd have you in this bed with me and I'd take my sweet time making love to you. I'd start with the sensitive little spot on your neck right below your ear...the one that always makes you squirm when I press my lips to it. You know the spot."

"Mm-hmm. I do," she replied dreamily as just the thought of him doing things to her made her squirm. "I also know that you have a similar spot right above your collarbone. It makes you twitch every time."

"God, yes," Lee sighed, wishing more than ever that they were together as he felt his need for her growing with every word spoken. "What would you do to me if you were here?"

"I'd find that spot we were just talking about and bite down on it just the way you like while I ran my hands down your bare chest. I love the feeling of your hard muscles under my hands."

"Speaking of hard," he growled in a hoarse voice. "Do you have any idea what you're doing to me right now?"

"Not as much as I'd like to be doing," she fired back. "I'd love to wrap one hand around your thick, hard penis just to hear you groan the way you do when I do that."

"Ohh," Lee groaned as he slipped his hand into his boxers and stroked himself the way she was describing, imagining that it was her hand instead. "While you were doing that, I'd find that tender spot between your legs that makes you weak for me and always has you begging for more."

"Like this?" she questioned as she touched herself and let out a gasp into the phone at the contact.

"Oh, yes," he answered as he pictured what she must be doing with her hand and wanted so much to be doing it himself.

"I wish it was you touching me," Amanda cooed. "Your hand here where mine is right now."

"And I wish I had your hands wrapped around me right now, instead of my own...or better yet, your warm, wet mouth."

"You're right, that is even better...if your mouth were where my hand is now the way that it was that night my mother went missing..." She let out a squeal of delight as she thought of that night and began to stroke herself even harder.

No words were spoken between them for a while as the phone line soon became filled with nothing more than their moans and sighs of pleasure, each one arousing the other to a fevered pitch until Lee hearing her cries becoming more high-pitched and pictured her bucking her hips in ecstasy, finally choked out, "God, Amanda, I'm gonna'...Ohhhhh!" His sentence stopped abruptly as he let go and gave into the climax he needed.

"Lee," she hissed into the phone as she too, reached her breaking point and tumbled over the edge, dropping the handset as she clutched the sheet beneath her tightly with her now freed hand as wave after wave of pleasure overtook her.

The only sound Lee heard for a long moment after that was the one of his own heavy breathing. When he came to his senses, he realized that he didn't hear her anymore, just silence on the other end. "Amanda?" When he got no response, he tried again, a bit louder. "Amanda?"

Hearing his voice through her haze as she tried to control her racing heart, Amanda bent over the side of the bed and scrambled to pick up the phone. "Sorry. I...uh...I dropped the phone," she said with just a touch of embarrassment in her tone.

"Hmm...That good, huh?" Lee teased to put her mind at ease.

She chuckled in response and replied, "Well, it's always been good between us."

"No denying that," Lee agreed. "You and I, we have this undeniable-" Once again, he wasn't able to finish his statement; this time due to a loud knocking on his door. "Crap! Someone's knocking and I can just bet that I know who that someone is."

Amanda rolled her eyes and snorted. "Impeccable timing on her part, as usual." The words were barely out of her mouth when there was a knock on her own door. She sighed. "Speaking of...I have to go myself. I think my mother's at my door," she whispered. "Goodnight." She quickly hung up the phone, straightened her nightgown from where she'd bunched it up and opened her door to find that it was indeed her mother knocking.

"Is everything okay, Amanda?" Dotty inquired.

"Sure, it is, Mother. Why wouldn't it be?"

"I was just on my way to bed and I thought I heard you..." She paused. "Well, it sounded like you were having some trouble breathing. I just wanted to make sure that your cold isn't getting worse. You know, if you don't take care of yourself, you could end up making yourself even sicker."

"Oh, no, Mother," she assured her. "I'm just fine. In fact, I feel better now than I have in a couple of days." _Much better, _she added mentally as she thought of what had just transpired. Francine may be there in person, but she now had confirmation that she, herself, was the one with him in his heart.

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The next day when Lee called her to tell her that the case had been wrapped up, that he would be coming home and see her soon, as luck would have it, Francine interrupted again, but this time, he firmly put her off. She even heard Francine's questioning voice in the background speculating that she was the one he was talking to.

"Lee, what's going on?" she called loudly to get his attention. When he came back to the phone and began babbling about how it was different, she couldn't help interrupting with, "I missed you, too."

"Yeah," he responded with a slight flush. "Okay, I missed you, I admit it, but that is all over because as soon as this mess with my bill is cleared up, I'm outta here."

"You don't really expect me to believe that interruption was about your bill, do you? I heard Francine's voice in the background trying to distract you again."

"Ah, but it didn't work this time, did it? I swear that woman has pushed me to my breaking point this weekend with all her-"

"I thought I did that last night," she countered.

He grinned. "Yes, you did and the much better one. When I get home, once you're feeling better, how about we...uh...give it a go in person? You know, all those things we said we wished we could do if we were together?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said. "You know, since I didn't get much sleep last night, I think I might be starting to have a relapse." She faked a loud cough into the phone.

"Well, I just happen to have the perfect cure for that...a home-cooked meal, a nice bottle of wine, maybe a little romance..."

"Match point, Stetson," She responded. "Hurry home." She then hung up, giving him no more excuses to delay his return trip and shivered in anticipation of what his homecoming might bring.


	59. Resident Lothario

**Chapter 59-Resident Lothario**

"The Pharoah's Engineer

Lee pressed his lips tightly together, clenched his jaw and bit back the comment he wanted to make at seeing Lois Mendleson asleep in her bed. He turned to glower at Rupert and Amanda as they stood in the doorway flanked by the guards who'd opened the door to Lois's room on his say-so. He shook his head and with nothing more than a clipped, "Amanda..." and a nod of his head to indicate he wanted to speak to her alone, pushed past them. He paused and turned back for a moment to the guards with a terse, "Get him back to his bed. You hear me?"

When the guards nodded, he then turned his attention back to Amanda. "And you, come with me," as he stormed off down the walkway.

"Now, Lee, I know what this looks like..." Amanda began as she hurried to keep up with him.

"Oh, you're damn right, Amanda!" Lee snapped as he turned on her. "This looks like exactly what I said it was; Rupert's telling tall tales again! He's getting everyone worked up over nothing because he just can't wrap his mind around the idea that the spy game is over for him!"

"Lee, come on!" Amanda argued. "I saw the van too!"

"So, what? What did you actually see, Amanda? Did you see them actually take Lois? I mean, you also saw that she was sound asleep in her bed and so did I!" He then marched off again toward his car.

"Where are you going?" Amanda protested as she followed him. "We still have to figure this out!"

"Figure it out? Figure-" he sputtered. "Amanda, there is nothing to figure out because there is nothing going on here other than Rupert's overactive imagination and you are letting him take you along for the ride. Worse than that, you're dragging me with you...In the middle of the night, I might add!"

"Oh-ho! Well, I seem to recall a few times that you didn't mind me dragging you with me, middle of the night or not!" she fired back pointedly as she stood on her toes to look him squarely in the eyes just as they reached the edge of the lawn.

"That is completely beside the point!" He countered, but at seeing the fiery, determined look in her eyes, he couldn't help his mind flashing back to all the times in question that she'd utterly shocked him by the things she'd done to him. "We're not talking about us! We're talking about you and how you blatantly disregarded-" He broke off at seeing her look change to one of pure fury. "What?"

"Us? Since when is there an 'us'?" She challenged him hotly.

"What? Amanda, come on! How the hell can you ask me that after everything?"

"Well, gee...Let me think!" she snapped back. "You! Behaving like this when I was just acting on instinct, just like YOU always do!" She jabbed him in the chest with one finger. "Just like YOU taught me to do."

She began to poke him with her finger again, but this time he caught her hand in his and pulled her roughly to him, capturing her lips in a fierce kiss, his mouth crushing hers, his tongue demanding entrance to her mouth. She let out a low moan as she snaked her free hand around his neck, opening to him under his onslaught. Angry with him or not, she couldn't stop the feelings that he evoked in her. She felt shivers running up her spine as his tongue swept into her mouth and his hands roughly kneaded her bottom.

She pulled back from him and sucked in a great lungful of much-needed oxygen, but she wasn't ready to let him go just yet. She grasped him by the lapels of his leather jacket and pulled him toward the bushes that she and Rupert had used as a cover earlier that evening, where they began their duel again, lips and tongues clashing.

This time, Lee was the one to pull back just to look at her. He shook his head in wonder, still unable to get over what a contradiction she was. Here she was, in her pink coat with her fluffy pink sweater beneath it, enhancing her femininity, yet she was tough as nails when she refused to back down on something. It was infuriating and endearing all at the same time. He moved to strip her of her coat and dropped it to the ground, then reached for her again, beginning an assault on her neck, biting down harder than he normally would in his irritation with her.

Amanda gasped as Lee's mouth descended on her neck, biting into the tender flesh there. She knew that would leave a mark, but she didn't care. She had become all too skilled at hiding those since Lee had come into her life. She slipped her hands inside his jacket and began undoing the buttons on his shirt. Once she had it opened to his waist, she returned the favor, by taking one of his nipples between her teeth.

"Amanda," He growled as he yanked up forcefully on the hem of her sweater to distract her. He pulled both it and her pale pink blouse over her head, the sound of buttons popping accompanying his actions.

"Hey!" she protested. "That's one of my favorite tops."

"You know how to sew," was his gruff reply as he pulled her to him again. Amanda let out a snort of disgust at his comment, but before she could give it much further thought, he lowered her to the ground atop the pile of her clothing, positioning himself to lie above her as he took her lips with his own again.

Amanda pulled the tails of his shirt loose from his pants, undid the remaining buttons and pushed both from his shoulders, but found herself hampered by the cuffs at his wrists. She pulled back from their kiss and hissed, "Damn it!"

Lee chuckled as he quickly undid the offending cuffs and finished the job she'd begun. He then moved to reach under her and unhook her bra, enabled by her lifting herself up just enough for him to slide it down her arms and toss it aside while she toed off her sneakers and then reached for his belt.

He lowered his mouth to her bared breast taking one nipple between his teeth, causing her to cry out. He quickly raised his head and shushed her. "You're gonna get us caught!"

"Well, we wouldn't want that, would we? I mean, God forbid, anyone know about us!"

He pulled away from her, rose up to his knees, gaped at her and in an affronted tone, questioned, "Just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

She propped herself up on her elbows and returned his gaze with a withering one of her own, "You know _exactly_ what it means! It's all great that we have this...this...this thing together...and you say there's no one else. Okay, so I believe you, because I believe IN you, but still you and I are the only ones who know that! I mean, look at the case you worked with Francine! You called me nonstop, but yet you still can't admit-" She clamped her mouth shut as she realized that she was entering dangerous territory.

"Can't admit what?" He challenged.

"Well, I just think it's awfully funny that you got such a laugh out of the Mendlesons calling Rupert the resident Lothario when really that should be YOUR title."

"Except that unlike Rupert, I'm not in my dotage yet. I'm not a resident here, remember?"

"Oh, you know perfectly well what I meant! I meant at the agency!"

"Well, I'm here with you now, aren't I?"

"But for how long? How long before you go back to denying there's something bet-Mmmm." Her words were cut off and became nothing more than a series of breathy moans as Lee's lips crashed against her own again and he pushed her backward, pinning her to the ground, his hands groping for the closure on her jeans. She let out a gasp as he found his target, his hand sliding inside her panties and stroking her center. "Lee..." she hissed as she tore her mouth from his, all thoughts of their argument banished for the moment. She closed her eyes against the flood of sensations coursing through her. While they'd had their phone play last week, the two weeks without his touch became all too apparent as he brought her to her peak much more quickly than usual.

When her eyelids fluttered open and she gazed at him through passion-darkened eyes, he couldn't help grinning smugly at her. "What was it you were saying?"

She pushed on his chest and rose to a sitting position as he chuckled at her. "You're such a jerk!" She railed at him.

"Oh? Well, I didn't notice you complaining three seconds ago!" Lee replied with a smirk as he leaned back on his heels.

Amanda opened her mouth to speak, but then quickly closed it when she realized she really had nothing to say to that. Damn him and his ability to overcome her defenses even when she was furious with him. She decided to fight back with the weapon she had in hand. She pushed once more on his chest, knocking him on his back and resumed her earlier task of freeing him from his pants. She then took him in her mouth in long, slow, even strokes, grazing the tip of him with her teeth, taking smug satisfaction in hearing the guttural groans from him as she did so.

"God, Amanda," Lee spat out through gritted teeth as he tried desperately not to alert Howard and the other guards of their presence. He shut his eyes and found himself grabbing fistfuls of grass as she suckled him and brought him closer and closer to the edge. Then just when he thought he was going to lose it, the feeling was gone with a loud pop. Opening his eyes, he sat bolt upright and uttered, "What the hell?" as he saw her reaching for her blouse.

"Lee," Amanda smiled sweetly at him. "What did you do with my bra?" She then glanced under the bushes beside them. "I can't seem to find it anywhere."

"What did I do-" He glowered at her. As he rose to his feet, he shouted, "Just what the hell was that all about?"

"Well, you know, Lee," She explained as she pulled her ruined blouse on. "I just got to thinking about what you said when you first got here. It IS after midnight, you know. Plus, I left the house without so much as a note or anything for Mother to explain where I am if she wakes up." She tugged the sweater over her head then picked up her coat. "Though how I'm going to explain the grass stains on this coat, I will never know. I suppose I'll think of something." She patted him on the shoulder. "I'll see you at the office tomorrow." She then skipped off toward her car.

"At the office? Amanda, wait!" Lee reached for his discarded shirt and jacket, attempting to follow her. "Amanda!' He called, but she only looked back long enough for one final parting shot.

"Maybe next time, you won't complain about me dragging you along for the ride, Mr. Resident Lothario!" She then turned on her heel and strode back to her car, now more determined than ever to prove that Rupert was not telling tall tales this time, just for the sheer satisfaction of seeing the cocky look wiped from his handsome face like it had been tonight.


	60. Game of Hearts

**Chapter 60-Game of Hearts**

"The Triumvirate"

Author's Note: For this one, I decided to take a bit of a liberty with the episode and delay Francine's arrival.

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Lee smiled at Amanda's mini-ramble and all too quickly replied, "Okay, I can stay."

"That'd be nice." Amanda smiled back. It seemed that ever since leaving him in the lurch at Birchwood last week, he had been much more attentive.

Lee couldn't help grinning like a fool. He'd noticed that following their "morning after" make-up conversation after their fight at Birchwood, she no longer seemed to be mad at him. Of course, a lot could have to do with the fact that she had proved him wrong. She did seem to gain a tremendous amount of satisfaction from doing just that. In this case, she had done so, much to his surprise, with Rupert's help. He couldn't help the slightest of chuckles escaping him as he recalled the way the older man had blatantly flirted with Amanda at the surprise birthday party they'd thrown for him, keeping his title of 'resident Lothario' intact.

Off his chuckle, Amanda looked at him curiously. "What?"

"Nothing," Lee shook his head and tried to turn his expression back to neutral one. He continued to laugh inwardly at the ridiculous notion that Rupert had a shot with HIS girl, rep as a resident Lothario or not. He soon found that as he reflected on other events that had occurred, he no longer had to work at keeping the smile from his face. It disappeared on its own as it struck him just how much it had pissed him off that Amanda had used that same title in reference to him. His attempted neutral expression quickly turned into a frown.

Amanda noticed the change in Lee's countenance instantly and her curious questioning became a worried, "What?"

"Nothing," he grumbled in response as he finally tore his gaze from her.

"No, really, what?" She was getting concerned now. Just moments ago, they had been sharing flirtatious looks, but now he was clearly no longer in a flirting mood. Something had gotten under his skin…badly.

Lee sighed. "I said it's nothing, Amanda." He wasn't about to give her more ammo to use against him by revealing to her how much her comments had stung.

Amanda tossed her magazine onto the coffee table and moved to kneel in front of him. "Lee," she began gently as she laid a hand on his knee. "If there's something bothering you, don't you think we should talk about it?"

He gave her his best innocent look and responded, "Talk about what, Amanda? There's nothing bothering me TO talk about."

"Oh, now, Lee, come on. I know that that just isn't true. I think I've gotten to know you pretty well by now and I know when you've got something on your mind and-"

"Oh, I know what you think is on my mind," He huffed as he rose from the chair and began pacing. "The same thing that every other damn person at the agency thinks is on my mind all the time and you know something? It's just not true! I have told you multiple times that you...YOU, Amanda King, are the only woman I've been with since the day we met, but yet you still-" He broke off abruptly when he realized that she was once again getting to him and making him do exactly what he didn't want to do. "You know what, it doesn't matter. If you're really not tired, I think I'm gonna' go lie down for a bit."

Amanda jumped to her feet and hurriedly stepped in front of him, placing her hands squarely on his shoulders. "Oh, no you don't. You're not running away this time!" When he stopped, she continued. "As for it not mattering, that's not true either. If it matters to you, it matters to me, but I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you?" He couldn't believe this. Here he was practically pouring his heart out and she didn't get it.

"No, Lee, I really don't," she answered sincerely, "but I think we should sit down and talk about this, whatever it is." When he stood stock still, her voice took on a pleading edge as she added, "Please?" Still, he didn't move, but she could see his face had softened somewhat and no longer did he have the tight edge in his jaw. "Listen, if I've done something to hurt you, I can't make it right or even apologize if I don't know what it is."

Lee ran a hand through his hair and conceded, "You're right," then sank down on the sofa and repeated, "You're right. That's part of the damn problem; you're always right."

"Oh, Lee, I'm not _always_ right," she replied with a chuckle as she sat next to him.

"Pretty damn often! TOO often. It got me to thinking that what if you were right when you called me the agency's resident Lothario? What if that's all I'll ever be?"

"What?" She gawped at him, her eyes wide with surprise. "Why would you think that? If what you've told me is true and I'm the only one that you've been with these last couple of years and I have no reason to believe that you haven't been honest with me, what would make you think that?"

"You tell me," he countered. "You're the one who said it." Amanda licked her lips nervously and let out a sigh, but didn't answer right away. Lee bolted to his feet again at her silence and snapped accusingly, "See? You do believe it!"

"No, Lee, I don't and if you'll just sit down and let me have a minute to think, I'll explain."

"Explain?"

"Yes, explain. You know, give you a reason for why I said what I did."

"I know what the word means, Amanda."

"Then will you please sit here with me and give me a chance to explain?"

"This better be a hell of an explanation," he grumbled as he flounced beside her on the sofa.

"Okay, look, first of all, we weren't on the best of terms in that moment. You were angry, I was angry and it brought out some thoughts that have been...well...sort of brewing for a while. We agreed back in October that we were only going to see each other from that point on, right?"

"Yeah," He confirmed with a nod.

"Well, I know that I've lived up to my end of that agreement and I believe you one-hundred percent when you say that you have too."

"So, then what's the problem? If we're seeing only each other, that should be a good thing, right?"

"Oh, it is, it is. It's great, really. It makes me happy. Being with you makes me happy, but..." She hesitated.

"But? There's a but?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "But being with you only in secret _doesn't_ make me happy. In fact, it makes me wonder if your heart is really in this, like the way Francine has nearly caught us so many times and you keep insisting that there's nothing between us and I keep playing along because it seems like that's what you want and I see you still playing the playboy role at the office as a cover so that no one will know we're together and it almost seems as if you like having that reputation so that you don't have to get really serious. If that's the case, then I can accept that, but if you really don't want to be with just me then-"

Light dawned halfway through her ramble and he pulled her to him, kissing her soundly to stop the flow. When he pulled back, he uttered, "Stop. Amanda, just stop. It's not what you think at all."

"It's not?" she questioned hope rising in her that what she felt for him, he might actually feel in return.

"No, it's not. Look, I know around the office, I act like you're not my girlfriend, that you're just my partner and that I'm still the wild, devil-may-care playboy, but that's not because I don't want to be with you. It's also not because I like having that reputation. I hate it, in fact, but that's WHY I don't want anyone to know that you and I are seeing each other."

She stared at him blankly. "Okay, now you lost me."

"My rep is bad, Amanda, and I mean, really, really bad, but the thing is I don't give a damn what anyone there thinks of me. They can go on thinking the worst of me forever as far as I'm concerned. God knows that even though I haven't done half the things they say I've done, I've earned my rotten reputation, but you haven't. You're the shining pillar of everything good there at the agency and if people knew that you and I were together, you wouldn't have that anymore." He took both of her hands in his. "Don't you see, Amanda? It's not that I am trying to live up my bad reputation; I'm trying to protect your good one."

She rolled her eyes and gave him a perturbed look. While his heart may be in the right place, him making that kind of decision for her was rather irksome. "That's really very sweet of you, but don't you think you should let me worry about my own reputation? Besides, maybe if it were publicly known that I was your girlfriend, it might help to improve your reputation."

"Come on, Amanda, you and I both know that'll never happen. I mean, look at the way Francine treats you; how she keeps telling you how naive you are to trust me."

"But she has a personal reason to feel that way, doesn't she?" She countered.

"Okay, yes, but..."

"All right, look, I can see that you're uncomfortable with the idea, so we can table this discussion for now."

"Really?" This time it was his turn to be surprised. Was it that easy?

"Yes, really. At least we got it out in the open now so there are no more hurt feelings, right?"

"Right, right." He nodded and gave her an affectionate smile as he released on hand to cup her face. "You're something else, you know?"

"Well, you are too," she answered as she leaned into his caress then brought his hand to her lips to kiss it.

They gazed at each other quietly, much as they had when they'd still been sneaking glances at one another from across the room, only now they were close enough to touch and were, in fact, touching. As if by unspoken agreement, they moved toward each other in tandem, their lips meeting in a fiery kiss and their hands began to wander over the now-familiar planes of one another's bodies. Lee quickly took the lead, teasing her lips with his tongue. Amanda responded instantly, sliding her hands up to rest on his chest, opening her mouth beneath his, gasping as his tongue tangled with hers and sighing in contentment as his hands found their way to her hips to pull her into his lap.

Lee pulled back for a moment to catch his breath and panted, "I have been wanting to do that all night."

She leaned her head against his, looped her arms around his neck and responded, "I've wanted you to." She then began to work loose the buttons on his shirt. "I've wanted you to do more than that," she added boldly. "It's been a couple of weeks now since we-"

"I know," Lee agreed in a husky tone as he felt her hands caressing his bare chest. "It's been making me crazy too." He halted her ministrations for a moment to finish the job she'd begun on his shirt and carefully remove his gun holster, laying it aside on the end table. "Since you don't like guns," he explained.

"Very thoughtful of you," she commented. She leaned down and kissed him tenderly. She was delighted when she felt him respond by sliding his hands up into her hair deepening the kiss. As their kisses grew more heated again, she lowered herself back onto his lap astride him, her hands on either side of his face while he began to unbutton her blouse, soon pushing both it and her pale cardigan to the floor.

He lowered his hands to her bare back, just savoring the feeling of her soft skin. He pulled her closer to him and rolled her beneath him as he clasped his hands with hers, before lowering his lips to her earlobe taking it between his teeth causing her to cry out. He paused to smile at her then resumed his task lowering his head again to suckle the tender pulse point at her neck, while she freed one of her hands from his to caress his back, sighing at the feel of his lips on her skin.

"Lee," she sighed as she moved both hands to work his belt loose, then pushed frantically at his pants in an attempt to lower them.

Hearing the edge in her voice, Lee pulled back from her for a moment to slide her panties down her legs, but before he could rejoin her on the sofa, she had sprung up and knocked him back down to a seated position. "Amanda," he protested, but then ceased when her hands reached inside his boxers and began stroking him. He let out a guttural groan at feeling her touching him again in that way, throwing his head back against the sofa.

Amanda moved to sit astride him again and his hands moved to caress her thighs under her skirt as she lowered her lips to his neck and guided him into her. "OH," she gasped as she sank down fully onto his erection, driving him deeper into her, which turned into a moan when his fingers found her swollen nub. Amanda found her heart rate accelerating rapidly at what he was doing to her, unable to form words anymore, just moaning at the sensations his touch created. She couldn't believe that as many times as they'd made love, she still wanted more of him. She clung to him as they began to rock against one another.

"Amanda," he groaned when he raised his head up to look at her again seeing the fierce desire in her eyes, feeling her nails digging into his back as he thrust up into her repeatedly, reveling in the feeling of her plunging downward to meet him thrust for thrust. Lee winced a little at her fingernails digging into him, but the slight pain was worth it to feel the exquisite pleasure being within her brought. He'd never felt this much for any woman in his life and was delighted to feel her muscles clenching around him as she cried out his name. He moved his hands from under her skirt to tug on her waist in order to drive himself deeper into her. His own climax soon overtook him and he called out her name in a strangled voice as he emptied himself inside her and wrapped his arms around her as they rode out the wave together.

"Lee," Amanda sighed as she struggled to slow her pounding heart. "I-"

Her words were cut off by an untimely knock on the door. "Shit!" Lee growled and they hurriedly separated and scrambled to get back into their clothes. Once they were both presentable, Amanda hurried to resume her position on the sofa with her magazine while Lee strode to answer the door.

At seeing Francine on the other side, he let out a deep sigh and opened it with, "Hi," he greeted her way more cheerfully that he felt. "Francine, what are you doing here? You're not expected until morning."

After explaining why she was there and once Lee had departed, Francine looked around and with a wicked grin said, "well, well, well, Isn't this quaint...and cozy." When her desired reaction of getting a rise out of Amanda failed, she suggested, "Wanna' play Hearts?"

Amanda shook her head and thought, _I WAS playing hearts until you got here._


	61. One Level Higher

**Chapter 61-One Level Higher**

"The Eyes Have It"

Lee and Amanda walked through the front gate on Maplewood Drive returning from her reunion laughing and smiling about the time they'd had.

"I can't believe it! I just can't! Even at my own reunion, women won't stop flirting with you right in front of me as if I'm invisible," Amanda choked out between fits of giggles.

"Oh, no, no, no," he argued good-naturedly, "You, my friend, were the one being flirted with all night. What was that guy's name, the one who was so full of himself?"

"Which one?" Amanda teased as they reached the front porch.

Lee rolled his eyes. "You know which one, the guy who kept talking about how he was brave enough to face down headhunters in New Guinea and how dangerous it was. Neil-something."

"Drexler," Amanda supplied for him.

"Right, right," Lee shook his head as he edged closer to her. "If he only knew what WE do for a living, then he'd know what _real _danger is. I bet he'd have backed off of his flirting then, huh?"

"Don't tell me you're jealous," she chided him.

His slid his hands to her waist. "Should I be?" he asked earnestly.

"You know, Mother did ask me to invite him to dinner as soon as she read all about his adventures," Amanda couldn't resist goading him as she rested her hands on the solid wall of his chest.

"Ahh, but you introduced me to all your friends as your boyfriend," Lee pointed out.

"Well, you know how those things go." She told him with a wicked gleam in her eye as she wrapped her arms around his neck to urge him closer.

Following her lead, he tightened his grasp on her, pulling their bodies together. "No. Why don't you tell me?"

"Oh, well, at reunions, you know that people always exaggerate the stories of their lives, how successful they, how great their kids are doing in school, their relationshi..." Her voice trailed off as Lee's mouth descended toward hers, the fiery look in his eyes halting the flirty banter in its tracks.

The foyer light snapped on just then jolting both of them and Lee backed off as if scalded. "Amanda? Is that you?" Dotty's voice called as the front door was opened.

Amanda let out a sigh of frustration. "Yes, Mother, it is."

"What are you doing out here?"Her mother inquired.

"We were just saying goodnight," Amanda answered as she turned to indicate Lee only to find that he was gone. _I hate it when he does that, _she thought morosely. Here she was, introducing him to her friends as her boyfriend and fully prepared to do the same with her mother... She sighed again.

"We who?"

She shook her head. "Doesn't matter," she responded as she entered the house, closing the door behind her.

"It doesn't?" Dotty questioned as she moved into the kitchen and began filling the teakettle just as Amanda caught up with her. "So, I suppose this has nothing to do with the fact that earlier, you were dead set against going to your reunion, but then just as I was trying to hustle the boys upstairs, I hear what sounds suspiciously like a knock at the back door and not ten minutes later, you're all gung-ho about going." She turned on the front burner of the stove and slammed the teakettle down onto its surface then whipped around to face her daughter. "In fact, you suddenly seemed to even love the dress that you hated just moments before," she gave an exaggerated gesture to Amanda's attire. "Then as usual, you were off...without your car, I might add."

"M-m-my car," Amanda gulped.

"Yes, your car, Amanda. It sat in the driveway all night while you were off, supposedly at your reunion."

"I _was_ at my reunion," Amanda confirmed.

"With whom? I mean, _someone_ had to have driven you there since your car has never left the driveway tonight."

"I-I-I-" Amanda sputtered. "Well, obviously, someone did drive me-"

"Who?" Dotty cut in. When her daughter was silent. "Does this have anything to do with the fact that before I came downstairs just now, that silver sports car was parked at the curb again?"

"Mother..."

"Okay, you know what? It's none of my business." She threw her hands up in the air dramatically as she turned to the cupboard to extract teacups. "It is _your_ life, after all and you _are_ an adult." As she turned back toward the island to add teabags to the cups, she continued, "But I really had hoped that when Joe returned, your fascination with this man you've been running around with would lose its appeal, once you had a stable man back in your life."

"Stable? Pfft!" Amand scoffed. "Are you forgetting all the reasons that Joe and I split up in the first place?"

"No, I'm not, Amanda, but he's here now. Shouldn't that count for something?" When Amanda glowered at her, she nodded. "Okay, okay, maybe it's too late to rebuild that bridge. You're probably right, but Amanda, My Darling, there are so many other men out there; Men who aren't afraid to make a real commitment to a woman. You know that I'm only trying to look out for your well-being."

Both women silently stared at one another, neither willing to budge until the shrill whistle of the teakettle ended their standoff. Amanda, to escape the intense scrutiny of her mother's gaze, busied herself with turning off the stove and pouring the hot water over the teabags, then gripped the counter for a moment for support before turning back around. "Okay, Mother, you win. If you wanna' talk about this, let's talk about it." She gestured to the den. "But in there where we can be more comfortable."

Dotty nodded in agreement. The two picked up their cups and once settled on the sofa, she began, "Lee again? That is his name, isn't it?"

"Yes, Mother, it is and yes, he was my date to my reunion tonight." She let out a little chuckle as she took a sip of her tea. "He even dressed the part."

Dotty snorted and shook her head. "So, he was able to convince you to go when I couldn't?"

"Well, he can be _very _persuasive," Amanda pointed out.

"That's apparent, Amanda, when you've been having a secret love affair with him for three years," Dotty replied pointedly.

"Oh, Mother, really! Not this again! It's n-n-not a l-love affair."

"Then what are you so nervous about?" She couldn't help noticing that Amanda had suddenly become extremely interested in the contents of her teacup.

"N-nervous? Me? Mm-mm. I'm not nervous."

"Uh-huh," Dotty responded disbelievingly.

"Oh, would you look at the time? I didn't realize how late it was!"

"Funny how that'll happen when you're having a clandestine rendezvous," Dotty retorted dryly.

"How clandestine could it be if I'm talking to you about it? Besides, it wasn't exactly a rendezvous. He just took me to my reunion so I wouldn't have to go alone. That's all there was to it." Amanda rose from the sofa to take her now-emptied cup to the kitchen sink.

"So, it was a pity date," Dotty sniped. "I thought that maybe he was finally starting to get more serious about you, if he was finally taking you out in public."

"Good-night, Mother," Amanda fired back as she hurried up the stairs.

As she began to get ready for bed though, her mother's 'pity date' kept haunting her. Was that really what it was? After their conversation a few days ago regarding his insistence on keeping their relationship a secret around the office, she just wasn't so sure. Yes, she'd been the one to halt that discussion and she desperately wanted to believe him when he'd told her that his motivations were all about protecting her reputation, but was that really all there was to it? She climbed into her bed, those nagging thoughts weighing on her mind as she tried to sleep.

What happened the next day at the office did nothing to alleviate her worries as she soon learned that not long after disappearing from her house, he'd boarded a plane and all that she was told was that he was out of the country on assignment. As she sat at her desk, trying to work, her conversation with her mother replayed in her mind. _Men who aren't afraid to make a real commitment to a woman...Pity date...Are you forgetting all the reasons that Joe and I split up in the first place..._

She frowned as she began to wonder if becoming this involved with Lee wasn't just leading her down the same path that she'd already travelled with Joe. Was she just letting history repeat itself in attaching herself to a man who lived for adventure and travel and... She shook her head and scolded herself, "Stop it, Amanda."

She tried to focus on the positive. Lee had said, "Come on! We'll make the perfect couple!" when trying to coax her into attending her reunion. She'd thought that meant that he already thought of them as a couple. Why else would he have put himself out there like that, offering to take her to her reunion and be forced to be the "window dressing" that she'd so often been at his side? "I'm just being silly," she muttered as she tried to convince herself of that.

However, when another day went by, then another with no word from him and no buzzing around the office that she was able to pick up on about where he was, those positive thoughts soon began to fade and be overtaken by doubt again. Had he taken this mystery assignment to get away from her as one more attempt to backpedal as he'd been prone to do every time that they got especially close, like that night in the swamp, their "wedding," and after Joe's return with the brother and sister cover?

She finally decided to just come right out and ask. She strode to Billy's office determinedly and in a rush of words, explained to him what she was thinking, reassured on one hand that he was safe because he'd made his check-ins; on the other hand, also disturbed because he'd taken the time to call the office, but not her. When Francine entered and began to speak to Billy in something of a vague wording, but Billy had given her the go-ahead to speak freely in front of her, she couldn't help casting Francine a bit of a gloating grin and immediately jumped to volunteer to pick Lee up from the airport.

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A few days later after leaving the agency once Brody had been caught, Amanda faced yet another inquisition from her mother as she packed an overnight bag and tried to explain to her that she had a new job assignment from IFF that would keep her busy for a few days. _Boy, would it ever. _If there was one thing that she knew about Lee Stetson, it was that he was a very difficult patient, especially once he was on the road to recovery.

"Amanda, we've hardly seen you all week because you've been caring for Mr. Simpson and now, you're leaving?"

"It's just for a couple of days, Mother," Amanda assured her as she finished her packing and hurried down the stairs. "I will call you and check in, I promise." She picked up the note pad they kept by the phone on the kitchen counter. "Plus, I'm leaving you the number where I'll be in case you or the boys need anything." In truth, she was actually giving them a dummy number that Billy had had The Agency set up to route to Lee's home number and as soon as he was well again, it would be disabled. "Besides, Joe promised to come spend some time with the boys while I'm gone and it'll be good for them to spend some time together without having me around as a buffer."

"I guess," Dotty replied skeptically.

"I'm also leaving you the car for any errands you might need to run," Amanda told her.

"Well, then how are you getting to- Where is it that you said you're going again?"

"I didn't and I can't," Amanda answered. "You know that since IFF works for the government, there are just some things about my work that I simply can't talk about." She was saved from further explanation by a horn honking outside. "Ooh, there's my cab. I have to go. I love you and take good care of the boys for me." She planted a quick kiss to her mother's cheek, snatched up her bag and skittered out the front door before she could be peppered with more questions.

Dotty sighed. "Lee again," she mumbled.

Arriving at Lee's and letting herself in with the key he'd given her, arms laden with grocery bags, overnight bag slung over her shoulder, she wasn't surprised to find him up and around, his contact book in hand and on a phone call. She set her bag down and headed to the kitchen to put the groceries away, She returned to the living room, just in time to hear him wrapping up his call.

"Take care, Rhonda," he was saying as he hung up the phone.

"Rhonda?" Amanda looked at him with a questioning raised eyebrow.

"One of my family, Amanda," He explained. "In fact, she's the one who turned me on to the existence of The Barnstorm List in the first place."

"I see," she remarked in a clipped tone.

He grinned at her and echoed her words of a week ago. "Don't tell me you're jealous?"

"Should I be?" she fired back as she moved across the room to stand within inches of him.

"Oh, well, you know how those things go," Lee teased as he tossed his contact book aside and moved his hands to her waist as he had the night of their last date.

"No," she shook her head as she slid her hands up his chest to rest on his shoulders. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Oh, well, you know, working together, being thrown into one dangerous situation after another, emotions run high and..." As he talked, he soon realized that he was no longer talking about Rhonda, and leaned into capture her lips with his own, making the contact that had been thwarted by Dotty's untimely arrival at the front door.

They shared a sweet, lingering kiss before Amanda pulled back and scolded him. "You know, you really should be resting."

"I don't need to rest, Amanda. I feel just fine."

"Doesn't matter. Mr. Melrose charged me with making sure you rest and that's what I'm here to do, so come on!" She took him by the hand and steered him toward the bedroom.

"Amanda!" he protested, but his protests were cut off by her pushing him into a sitting position on the bed. He grinned wickedly at her. "Are you sure this isn't just an elaborate ploy to get me into bed?"

"As if I would need one," Amanda countered without missing a beat. "But seriously, you're recovering from a head injury and need to lie down." She then pushed on his shoulders to get him to do just that, but Lee grabbed her and pulled her down with him.

"You know what would make my _head_ feel a whole lot better?" He ran his hand tantalizingly up her thigh that had now been exposed by her skirt hiking up when she'd toppled onto the bed. "Having you in bed with me."

"Lee..." she sighed as she felt the familiar goose bumps envelop her at his teasing touch. "That's not conducive to you getting your prescribed rest and relaxation."

"How is it not? I'd find that _very _relaxing," he crooned as she pulled her head down to his, tangling his fingers in her lush dark curls as he kissed her soundly.

Amanda gave into his kisses as she felt one of his hands traveling further up under her skirt while the other began to drift down her back sending shivers of delight all through her, but as much as she was enjoying it, she knew that he needed to heal. She pulled back again as she began to straighten her rumpled clothing. "Lee, really, you need to just rest."

"Who's the senior agent here?"

"I am, remember? Billy gave me a higher clearance just for this special assignment," she reminded him.

He sat up and gaped at her. "You're not actually taking that seriously, are you?"

"You bet I am," she answered with a firm nod. "Billy knew you wouldn't listen to me otherwise."

"What makes you think I'm listening now?"

"Well, I could always call him and tell him you're being uncooperative and have him send reinforcements..." Her lips twitched in amusement as she continued, "Francine maybe...I mean, she does have all those hand-to-hand skills. Now, we had decided on chicken noodle soup, right?"

As Amanda started to walk away, Lee clasped her hand to stop her. "I think you and I do just fine at hand-to-hand without her here." He then reached for her other hand and pulled her back down. "Don't we?"

She smiled warmly at him. "Yes, I guess we do." She kicked her shoes off and finally settled down next to him. "But I really think you should at least try to get some rest."

"I'll rest, but first..." He raised a hand to caress her face, brushing her hair back to get a better look at her features. "...Can you at least let me show you how much I missed you while I was gone?"

"You missed me?" Her heart began to flutter at his words as much as his tender caress was making her pulse race.

He looked at her questioningly. "Didn't you miss me?" He searched her eyes for the answer, hoping against hope that he hadn't put himself out there too much, making himself too vulnerable.

Unable to form words, she simply nodded as she leaned into him and their lips met again as they wrapped their arms around one another.

As things grew more heated, Lee sometimes still found it unbelievable how much he could be turned on by just her kisses. He supposed it was because she poured her entire heart into everything she did whether it was her dedication to the job, being a devoted mother, a dutiful daughter and then there was how she interacted with him. She kissed him like she'd never get enough of kissing him, like she wanted to devour him whole. Her passion with him when they made love was no different. The way that she touched him, the way she gazed longingly into his eyes when he held her, the words that she whispered in his ear, everything told him that she wasn't just after physical satisfaction as the majority of his previous lovers had been. He felt the same way, so why were they still playing this game of pretending they weren't in love?

Those thoughts were quickly tamped down when he felt Amanda's hands working the buttons of the dress shirt he'd worn to work that day and caressing the skin beneath. "Amanda," he hissed as her touch set him alight.

Lee groaned at the contact while he worked on stripping her of her blouse yanking it open and pulling it out of her skirt while she did the same with his shirt and lowered her lips to his chest. When both their shirts were on the floor, Amanda had started working on loosening his belt while he unzipped her skirt, shifting them enough to drop it to the floor as well, leaving her in just her lacy camisole and matching panties. Lee pulled her in tighter to him, rolled her beneath him while she pushed his pants and boxers over his hips. He raised his hips up for a moment to slide pants and underwear down his legs stripping off his socks before returning to her waiting embrace assaulting her mouth with his own again.

He had just lowered himself back to the bed with her, when Amanda broke their kiss to push him over onto his back lying herself atop him as she assaulted the tender skin at his neck while reaching between them to stroke him causing him to groan again and again at her touch. She lifted her head from his neck and kissed him firmly before moving to trail kisses down his chest and his stomach before taking his erection in her mouth. Lee cried out her name as she began to suckle him slowly, taking her time and reveling in pleasing him and hearing him express that pleasure. When she could tell by the tension in his body and the sounds he was making that he was close, she felt him tug at her head as if to stop her, but she didn't let him. Instead she only clamped down harder, took him deeper into her mouth and picked up the pace, bringing him higher and higher with her mouth, her tongue sliding along his shaft, her teeth grazing the tip of his manhood.

Lee couldn't believe what Amanda was doing to him, the way that she was making him feel. He had tried to stop her before it went too far because he wanted to make love to her as well, he wanted to be inside her again, but when she only began to work her mouth harder, he was lost. He tangled his fingers in her hair while she continued to drive him crazy with her ministrations until he exploded in her mouth. She didn't stop there, just swallowed and continued until she had sucked him dry while he called out her name over and over again. When she finally raised her head and looked at him, it was with a satisfied smirk. She then resumed her earlier position lying atop him.

He sputtered and gasped as he tried desperately to get his breathing back under control. "A-man-da," he panted out her name in broken syllables.

"Yes?" She smiled sweetly at him.

He looked up at her and rasped, "Th-that was..." He couldn't form the right words to say what he felt.

She flashed him a seductive grin. "Now, do you believe that I missed you?"

"Oh, yeah," he replied as he cradled her to him. "I-I...But I wanted to..."

"Shh..." She placed a finger to his lips to silence him. "There'll be other times, maybe even in the next few days while I'm here...IF you behave yourself and follow the doctor's orders. Besides, I owed you one after Birchwood."

"No," He shook his head. "I deserved that one."

"No," she argued back. "It was cruel."

"No, Amanda, I had it coming."

"Hey, senior agent still talking here," She stated pointedly while stifling his argument with a firm kiss to his lips, then in a gentler tone, asked, "NOW, will you get some rest?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm feeling much more relaxed now, but you should stay here with me...you know, just until I fall asleep," He insisted as he wrapped his arms around her and closed his eyes.

Amanda allowed herself to be enveloped in his warm embrace. As strange as it seemed to her, considering all the times they'd been physically intimate, for the first time she felt they'd reached a level of intimacy that left her comfortable enough to just relax with him. All the doubts of the prior week melted away as they drifted off to sleep together, wrapped in the comfort of each other's arms.


	62. How Would You Rate Me?

**Chapter 62-How Would You Rate Me?**

"Wrong Number"

Looking over Amanda's report, he couldn't help the pride he felt in how well she'd done with it, but also couldn't resist teasing her with just the slightest bit of mock jealousy in his tone. "You really like this guy, Towne."

When Amanda explained to him how she came up with that rating, he beamed at her, and as she was getting ready to leave, a hint of mischief on his face, he asked her on her way out the door, "Hypothetically speaking, how would you rate me?"

Rising to the challenge and wanting to wipe that cocky smirk off his face, she fired back, "I wouldn't..." then paused, grinned at him, added, "Not yet," and quickly backed out the door.

Lee's smile faded as her words sank in. What the hell had she meant by that? Surely they knew each other well enough by now, especially after she'd just spent five days at his place with him. Granted, most of it had been just them hanging out and her mothering him endlessly, but still it had been nice. He bolted from his seat and chased after her, catching up to her just before she reached the outer door, clasped her arm and spun her around to face him. "What was that about?"

"What was what about," she asked innocently, squirming a bit as he leaned toward her backing her into the door.

"Don't pretend you don't know," he replied as she placed one hand on each side of her head on the door. "I think we've spent enough time together, that you should know how to rate me by now."

"Well, gee, I don't know, Lee. We've only just spent a full night together for the first time this past week. That's hardly enough time to learn each other's habits and little quirks that might drive you nuts."

"What quirks do I have that drive you nuts?" He looked affronted and pulled back slightly.

"Quirks, you know...just quirks. I didn't say yours, but you know, little things like how I like to sleep with the window open."

"Which you did, all five days you were at my place last week and I had no issue with," he reminded her as he leaned in again. Then a disconcerting thought struck him and he pulled back again. "Wait a minute. Are there little things about you that I don't know, that you think would drive ME nuts? Is that what this is about?"

"I'm sorry, but didn't you say that you had work to do? Something about figuring out who the Russians have?"

"Oh, right, right," He acknowledged and let out a deep sigh. "Back to work."

"Yeah," she teased. "I mean, we ARE at work and I have to get this down to Billy."

"Right," Lee nodded.

"Right," Amanda repeated as she headed out the door, but couldn't help grinning all the way down the stairs.

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She was not grinning at all the next afternoon, however, in Billy's office when she was trying to explain why Mr. Towne couldn't be the KGB agent that he was suspected of being and was becoming increasingly irritated with Lee for refusing to even acknowledge that she was the agent of record. After all, she had done all that work. She even explained to Billy that she'd investigated all the facts, fed the facts into the computer and that's what the computer had come up with, so why was Lee, her partner, so unwilling to trust her instincts. For that matter, why had Lee already been so testy at the start of her assignment, telling her that Billy had been humoring her in calling it her "first assignment" and how he'd snapped at her about using his desk.

Lee sat in Billy's office, listening in disbelief as Amanda spouted off excuse after excuse for Towne. Here they were with evidence in hand, video evidence even, showing Towne involved in a drop, yet she still refused to believe it. Was she really that naive? Hadn't she been at The Agency long enough to realize that people were very rarely who they appeared to be on the surface?

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The following day, things went from bad to worse for Amanda when she had to go back to work on Sunday.

"Oh, no, it's no problem. If you need me to come in today, I'll come in today," she was saying on the phone in an exaggeratedly chipper tone.

When she finished her phone call, she confirmed with boys that they were going to clean the garage and they'd taken off up the stairs, her mother snapped at her, "Since when do you have to work on Sunday?"

"Mother, when you have to go to work, you have to go to work," Amanda tried to get out of it gracefully as she backed up toward the stairs.

"Are you sure this is work?" Dotty eyed her skeptically.

"Mother, I'm sure," Amanda said in a conciliatory tone.

"I don't believe it," her mother stated bluntly and she didn't, not after her daughter had spent nearly a week with Mr. Simpson, claiming it was work.

"Mother!" Amanda continued her journey toward the stairs.

Dotty shook her head and repeated, "I don't believe it."

"Mother!" Amanda replied in a sharper, shrill tone as though shocked that her own mother didn't believe her, but she supposed she really shouldn't be surprised with as many lies as she'd told over the last three years.

Watching her daughter dart up the stairs, Dotty proclaimed after she was out of sight, "It's getting to the point where I don't believe it."

The day got worse from there as they got in an argument after taking William Towne to the piano bar, got jumped, shot at and now Towne was in a holding cell while the two of them were being refereed by Billy.

Billy, meanwhile had had just about all that he could take of the pair of them sniping at each other. "Please," he barked in his booming voice. "Just put your personal differences aside." After he dismissed them, he couldn't help noticing the way they were glowering at each other and wondered if something had changed in their personal relationship causing there to be more behind this bickering than just the case. He couldn't help thinking that the longer they worked together, the more they began to sound like an old married couple.

After Billy's order to get him something more concrete, they made their way to the records room of the county courthouse in Culpepper. Just as they had exiting Billy's office, they jostled each other in entering the records room.

"Amanda," Lee hissed.

"Haven't you ever heard of 'ladies first," Amanda sniped. "You _used _to be a gentleman."

"Well, I guess that's just one more quirk to drive you nuts until you decide to rate me, huh?" he fired back.

"What is that supposed to mean," she questioned him with a perturbed look, hands poised on her hips.

"It means exactly what it sounds like it means," Lee responded in irritation as she slammed the door behind them.

"Oh, I can't believe you're still sore about that. Just because I didn't feel the need to inflate your ego any more than it already is, _this_ is how you're going to be from now on? If that's what you expect out of this relationship, maybe you should just go back to your nightclubs and your black book, brain-dead girls!"

"You think that's what I want?"

"Isn't it? I mean, ever since I spent all that time with you at your place, you've done nothing except bite my head off, about your contact book, the cactus-"

"Well, you try sitting on a cactus and see how well _you_ like it! It smarts, let me tell you that."

"Oh, poor baby. You don't know from smarts. I've given birth to two children. You wanna try that some time?" She got in his face as she said this, daring him to challenge her.

Lee rolled his eyes and backed her up against the door. "Well, you can lay the blame for that one on your ex, not me. Maybe if you're not happy with me, you oughtta just go back to him. That would sure as hell make your mother happy, wouldn't it? You, him, the kids, all one big, happy, _normal _family again!"

"Well, maybe I will!"

"Good! And maybe I WILL go back to my nightclubs!"

"Good!" she shouted.

"Good!" Both breathing heavily they stared at one another, fiery expressions on both their faces.

Neither was quite sure who moved first, but one moment they were staring each other down, the next they were locked in a fierce duel of mouths crashing together, tongues battling for dominance and roaming hands.

Pulling back abruptly, Lee snarled, "God, you really piss me off sometimes! You know that?"

"Right back atcha'," she fired back just before his mouth crashed down on hers again.

This time, there was no doubt who was in control as Lee grabbed both of her hands in one of his and pinned them against the door above her head, while he slipped the other hand under her skirt, yanked on her panties and began kneading the soft flesh beneath them.

Amanda tore her mouth from his and let out a long, low moan as the fire from his touch threatened to consume her. Why was it that, even furious with him, he could still make her feel like this? "So...good!" her raspy voice choked out. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the door as he worked her to a fevered pitch until she could do nothing more than cry out his name as she twitched and trembled with the intensity of her orgasm Her eyes flew back open as she felt him releasing her hands and heard the hiss of his zipper.

Freeing himself of the constraints of his pants and boxers, Lee plunged into her as hard as he could, emitting a loud groan and giving her a cocky smirk at the squeal that came from her. He lifted her leg up to rest on his hip as he withdrew and thrust into her warmth once again, never taking his eyes off her face, immensely enjoying watching her reactions to his presence within her.

Amanda only became further excited by the smoldering look in Lee's sexy hazel eyes as he penetrated her repeatedly. Unsure she could take that gaze any longer without giving in on their fight, she clasped his back to pull him closer and clamped her mouth down on his neck.

"'Manda," he growled. How was it that unlike any other woman he'd ever been with, she had the power to make him this hot, both with fury and passion at once? He gripped her hips tightly and pounded into her, pouring both into her at the same time. Hearing her stifled screams of pleasure against his neck and feeling her tightening around him sent him tumbling over the edge and all too soon, he was exploding inside her and crying out her name. Leaning against her for support on shaky legs, he couldn't resist teasing her. "How would you...rate me...now?" he sputtered through his heavy breathing, flashing her a cocky self-satisfied grin.

"Jerk," she muttered, sputtering and gasping herself. Amanda lowered her leg and pushed firmly on his chest to get him away from her, then began to straighten her clothing. "We...we have work to do," she reminded him as she struggled to slow her pounding heart down, irritated with herself for letting him get to her again and with him for being such a horse's ass about it.

"Yeah, that we do," he concurred as he began to right his own clothing.

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After the Townes and Francine had left, Amanda marveled at the way things had calmed down, not only with having rescued Francine without having to sacrifice Dr. Towne, but also between her and Lee, especially since he'd finally admitted that she was right, gave her due credit for being the agent of record and had just complimented her in front of both the Townes and Francine.

"I knew he wasn't KGB," Amanda stated confidently.

"You knew?" Lee questioned, gazing at her speculatively.

"Mm-hmm," she nodded while picking at her Chinese food with her chopsticks.

"That's pretty strong. You were fairly certain, but you didn't really _know._"

Amanda chuckled softly that their old familiar banter was back. "Oh, you know me too well."

"Listen to me, Amanda, will ya?"

"What?" she questioned as she finally looked up from her plate, stifling a giggle.

"Most of the time, we only think that we know, therefore, I can't really _know_ you too well." He flashed her a dimpled grin.

"Exactly my point," she replied saucily as she popped a piece of chicken into his open mouth. She couldn't help the laughter that bubbled up inside her as she thought of all the fun they were going to have in really getting to know each other better.


	63. Flight Shift

**Chapter 63-Flight Shift**

"Three Little Spies"

Watching the other two couples interacting and very obviously not caring who was observing them got Lee to thinking. What was he so afraid of? He had trouble saying the words, it was true, but he knew without a doubt that he loved Amanda. He glanced over at her, watching her watch the others with a wistful expression on her face and thought, _This is stupid! If they can make it work, why can't we? _

Amanda must have felt his lingering gaze on her because she turned her attention to him with a "What?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, but unlike other times when he'd been caught staring, this time he didn't turn away and try to pretend he hadn't been looking. This time he just gave her a slight smile and kept right on looking.

"No, really, what?"

"Nothing." He let out an awkward laugh, but still found the smile never faded from his face.

"What?"

He beamed at her and leaned in a little. "You've got a cute nose."

"Wha-at?" she questioned with a chuckle.

"I said, you've got a-"

"I heard what you said," she cut him off, still chuckling at the goofy grin on his face. "I'm just...well, I guess I'm just surprised is all."

"You don't think you've got a cute nose?" he teased.

"It's not that. I just..." She gestured with her head to the others. "Aren't you afraid of someone else seeing the way you're looking at me?"

"How exactly am I looking at you?" he asked her in a low tone as he moved in even closer.

Her breath caught in her throat. Was he going to kiss her? Here? In front of everybody instead of hiding? She found herself having trouble forming words and stammered, "L-l-like you're undr-dressing me with y-your eyes."

"Maybe I am," he crooned then leaned in and for her ears only whispered to her. "We both know I've done it in reality enough times."

Amanda felt a familiar shiver travel up her spine as his sexy voice washed over her. She began to reminisce about just how many times that had been true. More than that, she was also remembering everything he'd done to her while undressing her; his passionate searing kisses, his heated touch, the way he called out her name when he was inside her...

"Y-y-yes, y-you have." Her voice came out in a breathy whisper as she replied. How was it that just being close to him could turn her knees to jelly? He wasn't even touching her, yet she already felt desire coursing through her and a yearning for him to undress her again. How could this one man have such an impact on her whole being?

"I know I have." His voice took on a rough quality making it evident that he was just as turned on by their verbal foreplay as she was. "And I've enjoyed every minute of it."

He took her by the hand and in a normal voice for the others in the room as he led her through the room past them, he told her, "You know, I'm amazed that they went to such great lengths to keep us all comfortable here. In all the chaos, did you actually get a chance to see the whole thing?"

"Why, no. No, I didn't," she replied. She squeezed his hand affectionately, then in a low, seductive tone added, "Like your room, for example," just as they slipped through the curtain leading to the sleeping quarters.

"Precisely what I was thinking." He glanced sideways at her and gave her an impish grin as he opened the door to his cabin and pulled her inside with him, closing the door firmly behind them. Once inside he captured her mouth in a hungry kiss pressing his full length against her so that her body was backed up against the door.

His one hand slid under her skirt while the other worked at the buttons on her blouse. "Ohhhh," she cried out as her blouse was dropped to the floor and she felt his teeth grazing her breast through her bra. She slipped one hand into his partially open dress shirt as she tugged at the lower buttons with the other, finally getting frustrated enough with them that she just yanked forcefully with both hands, sending the offending buttons flying.

He pulled back from her and teased with a laugh, "In that big a hurry, are we?"

"I know how to sew, remember?" she responded as she pushed his jacket from his shoulders.

"That you do." He shook his head. Leave it to her to throw his own words back in his face. As he undid the cuffs at his wrists, he dropped his voice lower. "But your sewing skills on are not the _skills_ on my mind right now." He reached for her to pull her into his arms and backed both of them up toward the single bed. which only took about two steps in the tiny room.

Amanda shivered and then let out a gasp as Lee's hot mouth descended on the tender pulse point at her neck. "Lee..." she sighed as he deftly unhooked her bra while lowering himself to a seated position on the bed with her astride him. He paused long enough in his exploration of her to slip her bra down her arms and dropped it to the floor.

She leaned her head against his and they both tried to catch their breath, he commented as he rested his hands on her thighs, "You're wearing the blue skirt again."

"I know," she replied, a devious glint in her eyes.

"Oho, so it was intentional?"

"Oh, well, you know me. I'm a good listener. I pay attention when people say things."

"Ahhh. Yeah, you do know that I love the way you look in blue." He was silent for a moment, and then gave her a devilish grin. "But I like the way you look out of it even better." He reached around to her back to unbuckle her belt, which soon joined her bra on the floor.

"I know you do." She stood for a moment to step out of her shoes while Lee toed off his own and then reached for her again to unzip her skirt. When it pooled at her feet, he took her in his arms again and kissed her fiercely. He urged her mouth open with his tongue while she reached for his belt, undoing it quickly followed by the button on his pants and was just reaching for his zipper when he flipped them both around and lowered her to the bed. He hovered above her, never breaking their fiery kiss. Amanda once again reached for his zipper and finally worked it down so that she could reach inside to touch him the way she'd been wanting to.

"Oh, Amanda," he groaned as he finally tore his mouth from hers when he felt her hand wrapped around him, stroking him. He began to trail kisses down her neck, along her collarbone and down to take one hardened nipple in his mouth, delighted by her low moan in response. He didn't stay there for long though as he continued his journey downward.

Amanda let out a little squeal and released her grip on him when he dipped his tongue into her navel. He looked up at her with a questioning gaze. "That tickles," she explained.

"Ah." He paused for another moment to fully divest himself of his pants and his boxers before returning to her to drag her panties down her legs. He looked her up and down, gazing at her appreciatively. "But isn't this better than undressing you with just my eyes?"

"Oh, yes," she agreed. When Lee then dropped his head between her legs, she repeated, "Oh, yes!" when he reached out with his tongue to taste her.

Lee lifted her legs over his shoulders to give him better access as he resumed his task. He took her in his mouth, stroking her with his lips and his tongue, loving the way she tasted, the way she bucked beneath him, the way she shifted against him to let him know where she liked to be touched, all the while telling him with her sighs and moans what pleased her the most. He thought back to their talk last week about not knowing each other TOO well and it seemed that for all the things that he thought he knew about her, there was still so much that he didn't. He continued to explore her hidden depths until he felt her legs tightening against his neck, her shuddering beneath him and heard her cries of release.

He leaned back on his knees and lowered her legs just to watch her as the last vestiges of her orgasm slowly faded away, taking in the sight of her glazed eyes, her flushed skin, her satisfied smile and for as many times as they'd been together, he found that he'd never felt more for her. He couldn't resist teasing her though, "So, do you know how to rate me yet?"

Not missing a beat, she rose to her own knees to meet him and replied cheekily, "Well, gee, I'm just not sure. You remember what you told me when I was doing that rating on Dr. Towne? 'You have doubts, you ask questions, you get answers...' I don't think I've gotten all the answers from you just yet." She moved to straddle him, pressing her breasts against his chest as she braced one hand on his shoulder and used the other to guide him inside her then lifted that hand to his shoulder as well.

"Ohhh," Lee groaned at the feeling of having her wrapped around him. He clamped one hand to the back of her head and pulled it down to his to kiss her again as she began to rock slowly against him while he held one hand to her hip.

They kissed like that for several minutes as she rode him at the same pace, taking him into her as deeply as she could. She was the one to break their kiss, leaning her head against his and gazing into his beautiful, passion-filled eyes. She knew he was an expert at keeping secrets for the job, but she just wondered how long he could hide the biggest secret of all; The one that she could see in those eyes every time he looked at her. That thought was soon lost in the thought of how good it felt being close to him, having him within her again. Before she knew it, she was gripped by another fierce orgasm, just as she felt him spilling into her and heard his guttural groans with his climax.

They sat there together quietly; the only sounds in the tiny room were those of their heavy breathing. Lee moved his hand from the back of her head to softly caress her face, and then lightly tapped her nose with his finger.

"Cute nose?" she questioned.

"Very cute," he confirmed. "But there's not much about you that isn't...and you know, I've been thinking-"

Lee didn't get to complete his thought because they were interrupted by a knock on the door and the sound of Jun Sung's voice on the other side saying, "Mr. Stetson, your Mr. Melrose is on the phone for you."

They quickly separated and began to assemble their clothing while Lee snorted. "Perfect timing, as always," he muttered.

"Whatever it is, it can wait," Amanda assured him. After all, hadn't she once told him that when you're talking about love, you have to be patient? "We are here to work, after all."

"Yeah." He looked at her as if unsure that he should wait given their recent argument about his reluctance to publicly share their relationship, but then thought better of it for the moment. "Yeah, I guess it can." He nodded with a smile in her direction as he thought that if he couldn't tell her what he was thinking, he'd at least try to show her from now on.


	64. Color Me Happily Ever After

**Chapter 64-Color Me Happily Ever After**

"The Boy Who Could Be King"

AN: So, since I didn't put a note on the last one, it seems there was some confusion on the episode order. As with others in this series, I re-ordered them so that they made more sense plot-wise because Lee and Amanda were very cuddly at the end of this episode, but not so much in "Three Little Spies" and I always felt the little kiss at the end of "Dead Men Leave No Trails" should have come just before the big one in "All the World's a Stage." That is the reason for the chapters once again being out of airdate order.

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As he'd learned from Amanda, Lee had been observing King Eddie and his ex-wife throughout this case and couldn't help noticing that there was still a spark there. He stole a glance at Amanda as she watched King Eddie's band on stage, along with "Billy Blue Note," secure in the knowledge that there was no such spark between Amanda and HER ex. That wasn't to say that he hadn't panicked about it when Joe had first returned; he most definitely had and he'd made a huge ass of himself in the process. He was just fortunate that Amanda was such a patient, caring, understanding, and most importantly, forgiving girlfriend. That incident with the lipstick, for example; Any other woman who'd have their boyfriend stand them up, only to find them covered in lipstick, would have immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion and it would have been over, but not Amanda. What had she done instead?

_"You have lipstick on your face," Amanda commented. _

_"What?"_

_"Lipstick," she repeated as she gestured with two fingers to the smudge on his face. _

_"Uh...really, it's very innocent...uh.." he sputtered as he made his way up the stairs with her behind him casting a glance back her way trying to gauge just how pissed she was. After all, she'd just let him have it over his failure to pick her up. _

_"It's okay. It's not your color anyway," she stated blandly keeping her expression neutral. "Go ahead now," she urged him up the stairs, giving him a little swat on the butt with her badge as they went. _

_He thought for sure he was going to be in the doghouse for a long time over this one. That look on her face was scaring him more than any bomb or bullet ever had. Just when they'd been getting closer, this had to happen. Was it his fault that his contact information had gotten screwed up and landed him in this position? He thought about it all the way up the stairs and down the hall to the Q Bureau wondering just how much and what kind of groveling he was going to have to do._

_He needn't have worried though because as soon as they were in the office, he heard the distinctive click of the deadbolt being thrown behind him and Amanda, who'd somehow managed to pull a wet wipe out of her purse during their journey up the stairs was on him within seconds, wiping the offending smudge away. _

_"Where did that come from?" he questioned. _

_"I'm a mom, remember? I keep these," she indicated the wipe in her hand just before tossing it into the wastebasket, "For my boys. With boys, you just never know WHAT they might get into." She gave him a pointed look, then laughed good-naturedly. _

_Lee breathed a sigh of relief at hearing her laughter and began, "Really, I can explain it all-" but was halted by her lips on his, then trailing kisses along his jaw, to his neck, finding that sensitive spot just above his collarbone that drove him crazy. He closed his eyes and was just about to reach for her when she pulled back and stepped away from him examining him as if she'd never seen him before. "What?" he questioned, startled by her intense scrutiny of him. _

_She nodded firmly. "Just an experiment, which turned out to just prove my theory." She stepped closer to him again._

_"Oh? What theory is that?" he asked her as he slid his hands to her waist. _

_"Well, my theory was..." she paused as she lightly fingered the new smudge that she'd left on his neck, "...that THIS is much more your color."_

_"It sure is," he agreed as he pulled her closer and kissed her soundly. _

_She pulled back from the kiss and inquired with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, "So, you said you needed my help with something?"_

_"It can wait," he responded, his voice low and husky as he dipped his head to capture her lips again, but she'd turned at the last second and his attempt at a kiss had landed on her cheek instead. He let out a frustrated sigh as she wriggled out of his arms and slithered behind the desk. _

_"Oh, no," she debated with him as she fired up the computer. "If it's about work, I'm sure it can't. Mr. Melrose likes things done promptly. So, if you need my help-"_

_He skirted the desk, turned the chair around so that she was facing him and leaned over her making sure that she could feel what her machinations had done to him. "Well, there's something much more 'pressing' that I need your help with right now._

_Amanda licked her lips as she ran on leg along the outside of his and questioned, "What could be more...pressing?" _

_"I think you know," he responded smugly as he pulled her to her feet and into his arms. He wasted no time in planting a solid kiss to her lips this time, one hand firmly locked behind her head to keep her from getting away again. He used his other hand to cup her bottom, grinding his hips against hers, satisfied when she moaned into his mouth and locked her hands behind his head to deepen their kiss. He lowered his lips to her neck and murmured against her skin. "You're wearing blue again."_

_"Mm-hmm," she sighed as his lips began to travel down her neck as his body pressed her against the credenza behind the desk. "MY color, according to you." _

_Lee move his lips down to the exposed patch of skin at her collarbone while he began to unbutton her blouse, but pulled back for a moment to just look at her, taking in her whole appearance, the dark blue of her skirt in contrast to the stark white of her cardigan, the pink tinge of her skin flushed with desire, the deep chocolate of her eyes as they bored into his. "You have more than one color that attracts me."_

_Amanda's first reply was to grasp his rear to pull him closer; her second to give him a saucy grin. "Just so long as you remember what your color is."_

_"Can't forget it. It's never off my mind," he countered huskily as he captured her lips again while working his hands under her skirt, elated when he heard her cry out when he found his destination. Again, he pulled back to gaze at her, this time with a questioning look. _

_Amanda nodded in answer and he needed no further guidance. He quickly lowered her panties and eased away just enough to give her room to step out of them before moving back in, placing one hand at her waist, the other he slowly trailed up her leg to rest on her hip._

_Amanda grabbed at him furiously as she tried to free him from his pants, the raw need etched on her beautiful, expressive face, setting him on fire. "OH!" He groaned as he felt her reach her target. "Amanda," he hissed as she stroked him. He moved both hands to reach for her bottom again and eased himself into her, never taking his eyes off of hers. _

_"Yes!" she cried as she clung to him and wrapped her legs around him._

_The sound of her voice and the feeling of being inside her again was more than he could bear. He needed release. He pulled back and plunged into her again harder, her pushing against him only spurring him on. He lowered his lips to her neck again, sucking hard on the tender skin, knowing full well how much it fueled her desire as they moved as one. How did he never know that it could be like this, being with just one woman? How was he so blind to have once believed the old cliché of variety being the spice of life? He had all the spice he needed right here in his arms now. "'Manda!" he cried as he felt her muscles clenching around him and heard her cries of release, his own following right behind her. _

_He leaned against her, breathing heavily in the aftermath while she whispered how good he made her feel, his heart soaring at hearing those words, her raspy voice soothing him as it always did. _

Lee was sharply brought back to the present by her low voice beside him saying, "I have a feeling everyone's gonna' live happily ever after."

He smiled affectionately at her, one arm draped around her with his other hand was clasped between both of hers while they idly toyed with one another's fingers. "You know, I have a feeling you're right," he responded with a pointed look, immensely pleased to see the happiness on her face at his response. He knew one thing was certain, he couldn't wait to start his happily ever after with her.


	65. A Couple of Normal People

**Chapter 65-A Couple of Normal People**

"Dead Men Leave No Trails"

After watching Sallee elude him by hopping on the bus, Lee hurried back to the parks department building where he'd left Amanda for her safety. He let out a frustrated sigh as he saw her peering cautiously around the corner of the building. He shook his head as he approached her and through gritted teeth, ground out, "Amanda, what was the last thing I told you when you phoned me half an hour ago?"

"Not to follow Sallee," she confirmed with a nod, knowing that he was irked with her for not following orders. "But, Lee, he was right there-"

Lee interrupted her tersely, "He'd take you out as quick as he'd swat a fly." Didn't she realize how much danger she'd put herself in or how...lost he would be without her?

Amanda swallowed hard at the deathly serious look on Lee's face and nodded in contrition. There was more to his annoyance than just her disregarding his orders. The look on his face said it all. He was concerned for her safety. "I'm really very sorry. It's just that when you took me home last night, I couldn't get Millicent off my mind. After I read her diary, she...she wasn't a stranger anymore. She was just a kind, sensitive, lonely lady. And I kept thinking, suppose I hadn't found Sallee yesterday? What if I'd left it alone? Then she'd be alive right now, playing her violin and ironing Allen's work shirts and..." She trailed off and stared at the ground.

Lee moved to comfort her; these were feelings he understood. He took her hands in his, but she still stared forlornly at the ground.

"Hey. Look at me," he cajoled, squeezing her hands lightly. When she gazed up at him with sorrowful, guilt-ridden eyes, he continued, "You are _not _responsible for Millicent McDonald's death. I don't know what Sallee's game is, but I do know he was using Millicent and believe me, when he finished with her, he wouldn't have just walked away. If you hadn't pushed this thing, we wouldn't know Sallee's alive and planning something." He hugged her for reassurance.

Amanda leaned into his comforting embrace, clinging to him for dear life as she let the tears she'd been holding back silently fall. Lee closed his eyes as he held her trembling body against his, softly stroking her hair, trying to comfort her the best way he could in a disconcerting situation. Boy, did he know what it was like; to feel responsible for someone else's life. He felt that every day; more so since she'd charged into his world with both feet. If anything happened to her because of her involvement with him...

Amanda lifted her head from his chest and yanked on his lapels to pull him closer. He raised his hands from where they'd rested at her waist to wipe the tears from her face. "Amanda..." he began, but she silenced him with a finger to his lips before sliding her arms up to wrap them around his neck and urge his head downward toward hers. "Lee, please, I just...I-I-I need..." she sputtered.

"Shh." He lightly brushed his lips against hers, but took it no further than that.

Amanda whimpered in protest at the brevity of his kiss and tugged on the back of his neck again, needing more from him. Instead of moving closer, though, he pulled away from her. "We should get back to the office," Lee stated firmly, trying his best not to be swayed by the unspoken plea in her eyes. He wanted so much more than that with her.

"Not yet," she argued. "I-I can't."

"Amanda..." he responded in a scolding tone as she moved closer to him and pressed her mouth against his again, but he knew that it was futile. He could never say no to her, nor did he want to. He returned her kiss briefly, then took her hand and led her to the locked entrance of the recreation building, knowing that it was only open on the weekends. Wordlessly, he quickly picked the lock, pulled her inside with him and closed the door behind them.

Once inside and alone, Amanda wrapped her arms around him again and they began to kiss in earnest as he backed her up further into the main room to where he knew there was a door off to the left, leading to a smaller room used for self-defense classes. Upon reaching his destination, he reached one hand behind her to turn the doorknob, but the force of their combined weight caused them both to topple into the room, landing on the mats just a couple of feet inside the doorway.

"Oof," Amanda involuntarily groaned as she landed on her back with Lee's full weight on top of her. Not that this had been the first time. How many times now had he thrown her to the ground for cover and shielded her body with his own? Each time he had, she'd felt safe...protected and she needed that more than ever now. When he moved to relieve her of some of his weight, she locked her arms around him and shook her head as she ran one leg down his and urged his head down to meet hers again.

"Amanda, are you sure?" he questioned her. When she nodded, he finally gave in and kissed her soundly as he moved one hand to caress her stocking-clad leg until he reached the bare thigh above it, pressing her into the mat. As he felt her squeezing one hand between them to work at his belt, he let out a low groan as she brushed against his swelling member, bringing to mind another time they'd been in a harrowing situation after her repeated demand of "take off your belt." That had been an accident, but this...this was very deliberate. He trailed soft kisses across her face, her eyes, her cheeks, tasting the saltiness left behind by her tears of guilt, wishing he could kiss away her pain.

"Lee," she sighed as he lowered his lips to the pulse point at her neck while he began to work the buttons of her blouse loose one by one, pressing his lips tenderly to each new patch of skin he revealed. She let out a cry of protest when he stopped for a moment.

He lightly stroked her face, placed a quieting finger to her lips and crooned, "Patience, My Love." He continued what he'd started by hooking his fingers into the sides of her panties to drag them down her long legs, casting them aside and then bunching up her skirt at her slender waist before dipping his head down to the apex of her thighs, flicking his tongue out to taste her.

"Lee," she gasped at the contact, her hands flying to his head and sliding through his fine, silky hair.

Lee knew this was something that she needed, a release that only he could give her. Or, at least, that she'd made clear in her recent actions that she only wanted from him. He slipped his middle finger into her, finding that sweet spot inside while he pressed the flat part of his tongue against her intimately, loving her with his mouth. He was rewarded by hearing her sighs turn into breathy moans as she neared her climax, stroking her inside with his finger and outside with his tongue until he felt her coming apart beneath him, her body trembling now, not in sorrow, but with pleasure.

Moving back up her body, he finished the job she'd begun on his pants and slid into her welcoming warmth. Feeling her tightening around him, still in the throes of her climax, he knew he couldn't hold on for long, but this wasn't about him. It was about her. Moving in and out of her, he braced himself above her with one hand, while he stroked her with the other until her felt her falling over the edge again, watching with delight as she tossed her head from side to side with the force of her second orgasm, screaming his name and he soon tumbled over with her, emptying himself into her as he hoped he was emptying her of her guilt even as he filled her. "Amanda," he let out a deep groan as he collapsed on top of her.

Amanda held tightly to him, kissing his face and clinging to him in the aftermath, grateful that he'd given in to her demands, soothing her the way she needed to be soothed. "I-I-" she broke off as he raised his head to gaze into her eyes.

"You...?" He inquired.

"Th-thank you," she stammered.

He chuckled as he rolled to his side to take his bulk from her and pulled her with him. "Thank you?" he questioned, his eyes dancing in amusement.

"You know what I mean." She slapped playfully at him.

"Yes. Yes, I do," he replied. 'Thank you" had long ago become their code for "I love you," since they were both too chicken to be the first one to actually say the words. He held her to him and at the look of deep longing in her eyes, couldn't help himself asking, "Are we ever gonna' be like a couple of normal people?" Almost instantly, he regretted it at seeing the startled look on her face. "What?"

"Nothing. I just...I think that sounds nice, but I thought you didn't want normal."

"Well, with our jobs, we'll never have completely normal," he pointed out, "but isn't that all the more reason to have it on our off time?"

"You might be onto something there."

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Lee couldn't believe it. His comment about "normal" has actually struck a chord with Amanda, or at least he thought so. She'd invited him to her house for dinner, a real dinner date, not a cover, not him hiding out, no pretenses, just the two of them and he had been pleasantly surprised by how much he'd enjoyed it. But as luck would have, it wasn't to last because her family had come home early just as they were sitting down with their dessert and were "this close" to an entirely different definition of the word.

He didn't let himself be disappointed for long though. After all, he wasn't some hormone-crazed teenager. He'd been perfectly content with the one tiny kiss on her back patio, the look on her face setting his heart alight with happiness at the idea that they were one step closer to their happily ever after.

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Amanda waltzed back into her house dreamily after Lee's departure. Her first thought when Lee had grabbed her and pulled her into his arms the way that he had was that he was in the mood for another backyard romp. Instead, he'd simply gazed longingly into her eyes before giving her a sweet kiss, a feather-light brushing of his lips against hers. The look he'd given her spoke volumes about his feelings for her and then without a word, he was gone. This time, though, she didn't feel the sinking feeling that she usually did when he'd leave like that; this time she was elated, so much so that she didn't hear her mother talking to her.

"Amanda, have you heard a word that I've said?" Dotty questioned impatiently from the kitchen. "I swear, you've got your head in the clouds so much these days." Dotty stared at her daughter, trying to gauge her mood. "Saying goodnight to your Mr. Steadman or whatever his name is? You know, it's funny because I could have sworn a while back, his name was Simpson, but then when he called last week, I think he said it was Steadman..."

At the mention of Lee's "names" Amanda snapped to attention. "Oh, Mother, really. Just because I'm in a good mood, it has to be about a man?"

"No, it doesn't have to be, but I'm just looking at the facts. There are two sets of dessert dishes here, one that was already in the sink and one that I just picked up from the den." She gestured to the sink. "Plus, dinner dishes washed for two including a pair of wine glasses." She nodded to the drainer on the counter. "That silver sports car was parked outside and as soon as I asked you about it, you disappeared out the back door again and I'm betting if I were to look outside, the car would be gone now." She noticed that Amanda had also dodged her comment about her would-be boyfriend's last name. Was she intentionally trying to hide him from her family? Or was he doing so in providing different names? Whose decision was it to hide who he really was, his or hers?

'Hmm..." was Amanda's only reply as she began to clean up from her thwarted dessert with Lee.

Dotty smiled. "Does this mean that the two of you are finally on your way to behaving like a couple of normal people in love?" Seeing the wistful look on her daughter's face, she knew that could be the only logical reason for it...Amanda was in love. "No, never mind. You don't have to tell me, not that you'd volunteer any information anyway. You're like one of the spies in those novels I read. You'll never crack no matter how much pressure I put on you."

"Hmm..." came Amanda's reply again as she worked to clean up the remnants of the dessert she and Lee didn't get to have, still lost in her own thoughts. She only wished that she had had the courage to tell Lee how she really felt about him after their jaunt at the park. She'd had every intention of doing so tonight, and it seemed that in the way he'd taken her hands when they'd been sitting on the sofa together and the way he'd said her name, that he had something he wanted to say too. She'd stopped his train of thought because she'd longed to kiss him, but even that hadn't happened. Why did they have to come home early? She'd thought the two of them would have the whole night and she'd even changed out of her work clothes to be more relaxed around him, fully prepared to invite him to spend the night for the first time. She'd even hinted at it when she'd invited him over, reminding him that her family wouldn't be home for another day. Still though, the night hadn't ended on a bad note, even it is wasn't in the way she'd hoped.

"I'll just go check on the boys' progress with their unpacking, but I do hope this is a good sign of things to come."

After her mother had left the room, Amanda's smile never faded as she reflected back on Lee's words at her dinner invitation about being like a couple of normal people and replied softly. "I do too."

"And Amanda..." Dotty called from the stairs having heard her daughter's last comment.

"Yes, Mother?" She turned the direction of her mother's voice to see her still on the landing.

"If it does turn out to really be something, you know you could always invite him over for dinner some time when we're all home instead of waiting until we're out of town." She grinned at her daughter then trotted up the stairs.


	66. Final Dress Rehearsal

**Chapter 66-Final Dress Rehearsal**

"All the World's a Stage"

AN: Here it is, after all the re-ordering of episodes, the final episode of season 3. Thanks to those who have been faithfully following this tale. I hope you all enjoy!

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"When is opening night?" Francine jibed in amusement at Lee and Amanda's "rehearsing" song and dance. _Who do they think they're kidding? _At seeing the murderous look in Lee's eyes aimed in her direction, she hurriedly added, "A little joke," and quickly escaped.

Lee shook his head and turned back toward Amanda. "She's getting bolder."

"Yeah," Amanda agreed. "You know, we're not fooling her a bit."

"Who cares?" He echoed his words of a few minutes ago, flipped the lock on the door, turned back to her and returned his hands to her waist, a dark look of desire in his eyes. "You know, we never did finish our rehearsal."

"Right. Where were we again?" She linked her hands behind his neck and urged him closer.

"About here," Lee answered as he captured her lips with his own, his hands moving to cup her bottom as he ground against her.

Amanda moaned into his mouth as his tongue dueled with hers and her hands began wandering. She knew that they would have to be quick because Lee was expected downstairs to look at the embassy tapes, so she made quick work of tugging on his shirttails and opening his pants, while he did the same with her shirt and jeans.

"Lee," Amanda hissed as she tore her mouth from his when she felt his fingers caressing her through her panties. She braced her hands on his shoulders as she felt her knees begin to buckle at the onslaught of sensations.

Lee paused in his exploration of her and backed up toward the sofa with her in his arms. She toed off her shoes so he could peel her jeans and panties down her legs and reached into his open pants to stroke him boldly. "Amanda," he groaned as he sank down onto the sofa and pulled her into his lap.

Amanda cried out his name again as he pushed up into her, filling her completely and his hands slipped under her shirt to grasp her breasts. God, how she loved having this man inside her, but with all their teasing about rehearsing, and Francine's words about opening night resounding in her head, she couldn't help wondering if they'd ever stop rehearsing. Wasn't it time by now to have a real premiere? She leaned in and nipped at his neck, whispering against his skin about how good he was making her feel.

"God," Lee gasped as her lips clamped down hard against his neck and she rode him just as hard. "Oh, God!" He couldn't get enough of being with her, but he'd began to feel a bit as if they'd never get to the opening night that Francine had just teased them about. He wanted a real opening with her. His thoughts were soon quashed as he felt her tightening around him and felt her biting down hard as her body began to tremble above him and then she threw her head back and cried out his name, spurring on his own release.

They sat there for a moment together, gasping and panting in the aftermath of their quickie. ""Manda," he wheezed through his sputtering breaths.

"Yeah?"

He took a deep breath to calm himself and moved both hands to cup her face before saying, "You may be the understudy in the play, but you're my leading lady."

Amanda smiled warmly and planted a quick kiss to his lips. "And you're my leading man," she replied. It wasn't exactly a confession of love, but they were getting closer. She could live with that...for now.

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Lee stood in front of the door of the Q Bureau hesitantly. "You know, you and I do have a lot to talk about." He began to approach her slowly.

"Yeah?" she questioned with a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Yeah." He nodded slightly and replied, "We have been..." He paused, not quite sure how to put it in the right words to let her know how he felt about her and their time together without making it sound as if it had been all about the sex. "Getting to know each other for what..."

Amanda gave a slight shudder at his slow, almost predatory stroll toward her as she finished with him, "Three years," just as he reached her.

"And I think..." He took her hands in his glancing down at their joined hands for a moment before meeting her eyes and continuing, "...there's a lot about you that I don't know. I'm sure gonna enjoy trying to find out." He was just leaning in to kiss her when the banging of the outside door startled them, causing them both to jump.

"Uh-oh."Amanda let out a deep sigh of frustration. _It never fails, _she thought disappointedly as her heart sank when Lee pulled away from her. Her pulse began to race again, however, when he marched to the door, no longer at the cat-stalking-his-prey pace and forcefully turned the deadbolt with a firm shake of his head.

"No. Not this time," he assured her as he tuned out the voices of Billy and Francine outside the door. He turned his attention solely back to Amanda. He gave her a bashful smile as he moseyed back to her, his smile only widening as her hands slid up his chest to rest on his shoulders. He let out a soft chuckle at the inviting look on her face and gave her a bit of a questioning eyebrow.

"Yeah," she answered his look with a smile of her own and an inviting head nod.

He rested his hands at her waist and gently touched his lips to hers as he'd done just last week on her patio. He pulled back for a moment to gauge her reaction and was delighted to see the same elated look in her eyes that he'd seen that night. For once, this wasn't about sex, it was just about them getting closer to one another on a much deeper level. Their lips met again, a longer, but no less sweet kiss than the first one.

Amanda sighed in contentment at the gentle pressure of Lee's mouth against hers, his tongue lightly teasing her lips, but going no further. All too soon, it was over and they gazed at one another, both grinning ear to ear, but neither speaking for fear of breaking the spell.

Lee leaned his head against hers and in an unsteady voice, whispered, "Amanda." Just her name. No attempt to reveal just yet what was in his heart. He'd tried before and had either chickened out or been interrupted. He didn't want to ruin the moment again with another of those blunders, not until he could be completely sure that they were on the same page.

"Lee," she responded in kind as she moved her hands up further to encircle his neck, content for the moment just to hold him and be held by him. She knew how he felt about her, so she didn't need the words...not yet anyway. There had been no backpedaling on Lee's part this time, no using the job as an excuse to take away their moment. She could wait a little longer. "So..." she began nervously as her fingers idly played with his hair. "You...uh...you think there's a lot about me that you don't know, huh?"

"Mm-hmm," he crooned as he lifted one hand from her waist to caress her cheek, the tips of his long fingers burying themselves in her thick hair.

"So, what's your plan for getting to know me? Interrogation?" she teased.

"Maybe," he fired back. "If it's a Class C."

"Oh?" She brushed her lips against the hand on her face. "And what's a Class C?"

"Oh, you haven't learned that one in your training classes yet?" He grinned impishly at her.

"Mm-mm," she shook her head. She had, but she was dying to see where he was going with this. "I mean, I've heard it mentioned, but not really in detail."

"Well, then maybe I should expand on it for you. After all, I'd be shirking my duty as the senior agent if I didn't arm you with all the knowledge that I could."

"Can't have that," Amanda confirmed.

"No. No, we can't. So, allow me to demonstrate." Lee began by taking one of her hands from his neck and bringing it to his lips, planting a warm kiss to her palm, then turning her hand over and running his lips along her knuckles. He looked back up at her and explained in a low voice, "You see, a Class C is the softest interrogation there is." He linked his fingers with hers and softly brushed his lips against hers again. "To really get inside your subject's head, you do a lot of hand holding." He indicated their linked hands.

She squeezed his hand in response. "Hand-holding...check."

"Sweet-talking," he added as he leaned to whisper in her ear how good she smelled.

She shivered at the goose bumps that his words caused. "Aha, sweet-talking...check," her voice came out in a throaty whisper.

"Sharing your feelings with the subject..." He continued as he moved to make eye contact with her. "You know, to get them to open up and share theirs with you."

"Sharing?" she inquired. _Was this it? Was he finally going to say it? _

"Yeah." He nodded. "Sharing. You give a little to encourage them to give a little."

She fully expected him to backpedal or suddenly remember something pressing that he had to do, but she decided to press her luck anyway. "Ahhh. I think I understand, but maybe you'd better demonstrate that part too...you know, just to make sure I fully grasp the concept."

He surprised her by answering, "Okay. Here is what I want to share with you." He swallowed hard. "This thing we've been doing...you and me...it means the world to me and I-" He let out a sigh. _Why the hell was this so hard? _ "I...uh...I know we didn't start out in the traditional way, going on dates, talking, really getting to know each other..." Summoning up all his courage, he plunged on. "But I want that...with you. Real dates, real time together, not just about-" He broke off realizing how that might sound to her and shifted gears slightly. "Not that...well, not that part hasn't been enjoyable, but-"

"I understand," she assured him. "We've been all over each other from the beginning, but we need to-"

"Slow down," they said together.

"Or maybe not slow down, necessarily," Amanda amended. "But we definitely need to take more time for other things. I really want that too."

His heart soared at her response, but still afraid of revealing too much too soon, he jumped back into teasing mode. "See? That's how it's done. I shared something personal with you and-"

Placing a finger to his lips to silence him, she answered, "Easy as AB...C, but I think I might still need to put it into practice a bit more. You know, just to make sure that I have it down pat."

Lee nodded. "You free for dinner tonight?"

"Dinner?"

"So you can practice." He answered with a mischievous gleam in his eyes."I want you to get an A when you do take the class. What better way to practice? I mean, after all, you rehearsed for this play, right?"

"Good thinking." She nodded and tilted her head toward him to seal the deal with another kiss. When she pulled back, she lightly touched his face and spoke softly. "Thank you."

"Thank you?" He questioned. His eyes lit up at the utterance of their special code words from her lips.

"You know, for being so concerned about helping me with my training."

"Ahh." He nodded in understanding. "Well, thank you for wanting to learn."


	67. Inside Out

**Chapter 67-Inside Out**

"Unfinished Business"

AN: For this one, I'm doing a bit of reordering again because it always made more sense to me relationship-wise to have "Unfinished Business" come before "Stemwinder." I'm taking a bit of a liberty with the scene in which Amanda breaks into Lee's apartment since there is a convenient gap between Lee's "What the hell are you doing here?" and "How'd you get in here?" Given the nature of the episode, this one is a bit more angsty than usual. A huge thanks to my beta squad for helping to make this one better.

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Was he dreaming again? Lee was five years old and his mother was calling his name. "Lee..." He kept hearing the voice, but couldn't see her. "Lee?" he heard the female voice again, but was it his mother's voice? It didn't sound the way he remembered it. He was trying to place the voice in his mind and when he felt someone hovering over him his agent instincts kicked in and he grabbed the intruder to pin them down.

Amanda let out a loud scream when she found herself suddenly on her back; her shoulders were held in Lee's strong grip and his searching gaze at her as if, for a moment, he didn't recognize her. Then when it seemed that whatever fog was clouding his mind lifted, he questioned, "Amanda?"

"Yes," she answered in a panicked voice, a bit disconcerted by the way he was holding her.

His response was not what she had expected. "What the hell are you doing here?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"I was worried about you," she answered simply. That was an understatement. He'd been acting so unlike himself since yesterday. All summer long since they'd had their talk about getting to know each other, they'd spent every moment they could together. He'd even found a new place, Emilio's, that had now become "their" place. Of his own accord, he'd asked for her help in apartment-hunting and in picking out new furniture for his new home. She'd agreed happily for the job and had volunteered to help him move into it.

He'd rewarded her by moving a second desk into their shared office so that she could have her own space now that her training was progressing, a sweet gesture on his part. He'd never said anything about it, but she also suspected that he was behind Billy getting her an Agency ID of her own, instead of a visitor's pass and she was no longer required to remember a password to provide to Mrs. Marston every day.

When she'd arrived at the office yesterday, he'd been in such a playful mood. Since he had nothing on his agenda, he'd even suggested that they ditch so they could spend some more time together. But as soon as she'd handed him that CIA file, his entire demeanor had changed instantly. He was no longer _her _Lee Stetson. He was the cool, immovable Scarecrow again. He'd hustled her out the door as he had in the early days of their partnership and had shut down on her. Then he had stopped returning her calls.

And now he was hovering inches above her, stone-faced and she held her breath nervously, until finally, he nodded as if acknowledging her presence, but still didn't release her. Instead, he used his entire body to press her into the mattress and covered her mouth with his own in a feral, possessive kiss. He used one hand to tip her head back, as he demanded entrance into her mouth.

Amanda opened beneath his assault and moaned into his mouth as his tongue probed hers and he ground his hips into hers. She gasped in astonishment at feeling his erection so hard already; even through the thick denim of her jeans, she could feel him. She snaked her free arm around his neck as she parted her legs and pushed up against him. Her heart soared in believing that her fears of him shutting her out had been unfounded.

She whimpered as he pulled back from her as abruptly as he'd started, the momentary lightness in her heart fading until she realized what he was doing. He reached for her shoes and without bothering to untie them, yanked them from her feet, dropping them to the floor. Then without pausing for a second, he reached to undo her jeans, dragging them and her panties down her legs. Then he was above her again, his mouth back on hers as his hand slipped between them to stroke her center.

She kissed him back fiercely and bucked against his hand, not really understanding what he was up to or what was going on with him, but sensing that this was something he needed, so she didn't stop him. Not that it was a hardship for her to be kissed by him or to be touched by him. After the way he'd distanced himself from her, she relished every touch and found herself, much sooner than she would have expected, feeling that out-of-control feeing that occurred every time that she was about to climax under his skilled hands. She was so lost that her mind barely registered the hiss of his zipper and didn't have time to process what the sound was until he was inside her.

"Lee!" she cried, tearing her mouth from his, as he thrust into her hard and fast.

Lee grasped her hips and clamped his mouth down on her neck as he buried himself in her, hoping to bury the pain in the process. All too soon, he felt himself exploding within her. He let out a strangled cry as he thrust into her twice more before he collapsed on top of her and burrowed his head into her soft, thick hair, his whole body shaking uncontrollably.

Amanda cradled him against her, holding him tightly as his body continued to tremble above her and he let out little whimpers as he struggled to control his breathing. She stroked his fine hair and crooned, "It's okay. Shh...whatever, it is, it's all gonna' be okay."

After a long moment, his body stilled and they just lay there together until Lee pulled back, pulled out of her and away from her. Without a word, he straightened his pants and sat on the side of the bed with his back to her. She wondered if she should say something or let him take the lead. It was clear that he was hurting. Deciding that since she knew him inside and out now and knowing that pushing him to talk about it would only cause him to retreat further, she quietly got dressed. Once done with tying her shoes, she sat beside him on the bed.

He finally broke the eerie silence by asking in a demanding tone, "How'd you get in here anyway?"

"Lock pick. Standard issue," she explained. That had been another contribution to her career advancement that she suspected he'd been responsible for. Shortly after putting the Martinet case to bed, he'd insisted on taking her out to celebrate her passing the "entry and escape" course with flying colors. He'd presented it to her at dinner, telling her that it was just "standard issue" upon passing that course when she had protested that since she wasn't a full-time agent, she wasn't sure she should have the lock pick kit.

"Well, I'm gonna' have to do something about that," he muttered with a shake of his head.

Amanda took in his appearance as she watched him run a hand through his hair, a gesture that she'd learned from experience that meant he was agitated or frustrated. He often didn't even seem to be consciously aware that he was doing it. As she examined him more closely, she noticed tear stains on his face and his rumpled clothes that were in that shape before their romp. He'd been sleeping in them when she walked in, so it was no surprise. What was a surprise is that he would do that. The only times she'd known him to sleep in his work clothes were when he'd had no choice, like times they'd been held prisoner by the bad guys. This, though, this was a bad guy that she couldn't fight. Whatever he was fighting now was inside his own head.

_Should I say something? _She wondered. She wanted so badly to help him with whatever was bothering him. That's what you were supposed to do for someone you loved. Finally deciding that risking incurring his wrath was better than seeing him like this. She took a deep breath. "Look, I know this is about your mom and dad."

Lee stopped rubbing his head and gaped at her. "And what makes you think that?" he questioned defensively.

She explained to him about the pictures and the CIA file.

"So you snooped," he chimed in mid-ramble, just as she said, "I'm sorry. I snooped."

She nodded and replied, "I did."

Lee looked down at his hands, clasping them together tightly in frustration and spat out her name.

"Yeah?" She never took her eyes off of him as he unclenched his hands and began gesturing with them as he spoke.

"This is something that's very personal. Can't you just leave it at that?" he implored her.

"No," she answered instantly. "Because when somebody that I care about hurts, I hurt too."

At her words and the sincere, loving look in her eyes, even after he'd just used her shamelessly for his own needs, Lee's hardened expression softened. How could she look at him like that, still care for him after...

He tore his gaze from hers, unable to fathom how she could still be willing to help him and furthermore, be so adamant about _wanting_ to help him? He took another deep breath and conceded, looking back in her direction. "I've never told anyone. I never leaned on anybody, even when I needed to."

"You can lean on me; I'm a lot stronger than I look." _Did this mean he was going to let her in again? _She felt a flutter of hope rising within her.

He stared at her blankly for a moment, but then couldn't help smiling broadly, flashing her his dimples and when she smiled back warmly, he stood, reached for her hand and suggested, "Let's take a walk, huh?" He was pleased that she immediately took his hand and agreed.

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Three days later, once he'd had time to recover from his drug-induced haze, Amanda stood by his side as he gazed down at the gravestones bearing his parents' names.

"I haven't been by here in a long time." He sighed. "Somehow, it always seemed easier to stay away." He absently reached for her hand as he spoke. "But now..." Now, he knew that if he wanted to really have a life with Amanda, he needed what the shrinks that he hated referred to as "closure." If he wanted to start a real future with her, he had to let go of the past.

Amanda clasped his hand with both of hers, squeezing it gently to comfort him. She gently rubbed his arm. "I'm gonna leave you alone now."

Lee clung to her not letting go of her hand and urged her to stay. "No, Amanda." He took both of her hands in his and turned to face her. "No, don't go." He remembered vividly calling her "My Amanda" during his hallucinogen-induced trance. He knew now that nothing would ever be the same between them after that. They didn't need to talk about it, just like they didn't need to talk about his panic-driven use of her body as a sanctuary. She'd given freely of herself in that moment. She knew it; he knew it and he was grateful for it.

He nodded toward the headstones. "I sure wish you could've known them."

She glanced briefly in that direction, then back at him and when he met her eyes again, she replied, "I think I do." When she saw him smile a real, genuine smile for the first time in days, she couldn't help smiling back.

Lee looked at his girlfriend in wonder. He'd put her through hell this past week, yet she'd never left his side during this whole ordeal. He used his grip on her hands to pull her into his arms and held her, knowing without a doubt that he wanted to hold her for the rest of his life.

He brushed a soft kiss against her temple and then perked up as a thought struck him. "Hey, I have something for you." He pulled back from her and dug into his pocket. "I was gonna' wait until our next date to give it to you, but you're here now."

"For me? What is it?"

He produced a key ring from his pocket with two keys on it and dangled them in front of her. When she looked at him curiously, he explained as he took her hand and pressed the keys into it and closed her fingers around them, "For my apartment, so you don't have to break in anymore."

"Lee, I-I-I don't know what to say." She looked down at her closed hand and back up at him.

"Say, you'll use them. Whenever you feel like it. No more lock-picking, huh?" He grinned mischievously at her.

"You got it," she agreed and hugged him tightly. It was a big step for him, she knew. He'd never given his keys to anyone before, so she knew now that he was back to being...him.


	68. We Pretend to Be Lovers

**Chapter 68-We Pretend to Be Lovers**

"Stemwinder, Part One"

"This is a real drag," Amanda muttered. She had sat in Lee's 'vette for the better part of two hours uncomfortably listening to the sounds coming from Sonja Chenko's apartment. She cringed every time she heard the kissing sounds, wishing that it were she in Lee's arms. She knew it was just part of the job, but she couldn't help the sick feeling she was getting in the pit of her stomach. A moment of panic arose within her when she heard nothing but silence for a long stretch of time. Had Lee moved his peacock dance to the bedroom, she wondered. _No, _she told herself firmly. He promised that he wouldn't.

_How dare she put her hands on __**MY **__man, she thought scathingly. _She'd love nothing more than to put some of the skills she'd learned recently in her hand-to-hand training to take Sonja out. First, she'd shown up and hit on Lee at THEIR place, a place that had been their sanctuary. Now, she was up there, doing God only knew what in an attempt to seduce classified information out of him. She was so lost in her thoughts that the driver's side door opening startled her and relief flooded through her as Lee slid his long form into the driver's seat.

Lee had just closed the driver's door and reached for the key when he felt Amanda's long, slender fingers sliding the zipper of his pants down and before he could protest her hand was wrapped around him and he was emitting a primal groan. He heard a loud thump and looked over to find the phone knocked off its cradle, but had barely had time to process that when he found himself engulfed in Amanda's warm mouth. "OHH," he cried as she began to suckle him hard and fast. "'Manda," he hissed through clenched teeth.

As much as he would like to have let her continue, he knew he had to stop her. "Amanda," he uttered in a warning tone as he used both hands to gently push her back toward her side of the car. When she looked at him with questioning eyes, he explained as he straightened his pants, "As much as I'm enjoying this, we don't know who might be watching right now." He grinned at her. "And I'd much prefer it if I knew we didn't have an audience."

Amanda nodded as she sank back down in her seat to avoid being seen, but couldn't help the triumphant smile at the reaction she'd gotten from him. She hadn't heard anything like that coming from Sonja's apartment. "Drive fast," she commanded.

"You know it," he replied as he put the car in gear and peeled away from the curb.

Once they'd reached his apartment and he'd let her in, Amanda was on him again in an instant, pushing his jacket from his shoulders, tugging at the buttons of his shirt, and nipping hard at the skin of his neck. "'God," he groaned at her ministrations. He grasped her hips and backed her up further into the apartment until she was half-seated against the back of the sofa. His shirt and her blouse were soon dropped to the floor as his hands found their way under her skirt, clawing at her panties as they breathlessly devoured one another.

"Lee," she gasped as she felt him stroking her beneath her skirt.

He pulled back from her in an attempt to cool things off a bit and searched her face with a questioning gaze as he panted out, "You know, Amanda, this...this isn't necessary." He lightly caressed her face. "This thing...this thing with Sonja. It's not...not something I wanted."

She was touched by the fact that he was trying to reassure her, but he saw by the blazing look in her eyes that she didn't want reassurance. She wanted retaliation, to prove to Sonja that Lee belonged to her, no matter what the other woman might do. Amanda answered by reaching for his belt, followed by the buttons on his pants. "But it _is _necessary," she countered. "It's our cover, isn't it?" She smirked at him, reminding him of the cover they'd once played in which he'd been overly affectionate and made her uncomfortable in the process. "Didn't you explain to me that in the Lisbon variation, we're supposed to be lovers?"

"I suppose I did," he responded with a grin.

"And I told you that I could make that adjustment." She reached into his now-opened pants and ran a hand along his growing erection. "I'm a pro, right?" She paused in her exploration of him to push his pants and boxers down to his ankles with both hands.

He stepped out of his shoes, stripped off his socks, and kicked the garments aside standing naked before her watching her watching him as he did so. "So, you are," he replied. "Just look at your observation skills, but in my observation, one of us is overdressed here."

Amanda unhooked her bra and shimmied out of it, while Lee reached behind her to unzip her skirt, letting it pool at her feet and she stepped out of it, kicking her heels off in the process. "So, what does a pro do next?" she questioned in a seductive tone. "Something like this maybe?" She ran her hands down his bare chest, thumbing his nipples.

Lee sucked in a breath as her hands began moving over his body again. "Or something like this," he answered as he grasped her bottom and lifted her off her feet to straddle him, pushing into her as he captured her lips in a fiery kiss.

"Lee," she hissed at him filling her as she linked her hands behind his neck and locked her legs around his waist.

He thrust into her once more and then began walking toward the bedroom with her in his arms. When she broke their kiss and latched onto his neck again with her mouth, he was forced to pause when they reached the fireplace. He pinned her body against it, gripped her hips tightly and pushed into her again, then once more, then just held her there as he took a moment to savor the feeling of her lips on his skin. Once more he thrust up into her and watched in delight as she threw her head back and let out a low moan.

Determined to make it to the bedroom, he began to carry her again, but when she began to rock against him, he had to stop again in the hallway just outside his bedroom door. Didn't she get what she was doing to him? How hard she was making it for him to just stay upright? "'Manda," he growled as he kissed her firmly and ground his hips against hers, pushing her higher against the wall so he could thrust into her again, deeper this time.

"Lee!" she cried when he did that. She'd missed this with him so much. It had been so hard for her to listen to his make-out sessions with another woman, to pretend to fight with him when all she wanted was to get him alone and away from the other woman's clutches.

Embarking once more on his journey, Lee finally made it to the bedroom, Amanda still wrapped around him and they tumbled to the bed together, giving them more freedom to give in to their desires. Five nights without each other and of pretending they were on the verge of breaking up had taken its toll on both of them. "So good," he whispered in her ear as she pushed her hips up to meet every thrust of his.

"Yes, so good," she echoed back at him as the tremors of her release began to take her over and she felt herself spiraling out of control, sending him over the edge with her, his guttural groan in her ear giving her just as much satisfaction as he collapsed atop her.

They lay there together, limbs tangled, breathing hard, neither speaking for a long moment as their bodies cooled and heart rates slowed. Lee was the first to break the silence. "I...uh...I..." he panted. "I don't think you'll find...that one in the books."

She nodded as she ran her leg along his. "No statistics for Sonja to measure?"

He shook his head firmly and fixed her with a sincere look. "None," he stated adamantly.

"Good." She gave him a pleased smile as she pulled him back down to her and cradled him against her.

Lee knew that he needed to tell her how he really felt about her, that she needed that security. He pulled back again and caressed her face tenderly. "Amanda, I-"

The moment was lost by the shrill ringing of the phone sitting on his nightstand. _Of course, _he thought as he pulled completely away from her to answer it. It was the dispatch desk at the office wondering if everything was okay since neither of them had checked in yet. They'd already tried the car phone and hadn't been able to get through. He let out a soft chuckle as it occurred to him then that he'd never dug it back out from under his seat where it had landed during Amanda's assault on him.

"I should go," Amanda stated abruptly as she bolted from his bed and into the living room.

Lee caught up with her to find her gathering up her clothes. He took hold of her arm and spun her around to face him. "Amanda, what the hell?"

"What?" she snapped as she pulled her arm from his grasp and slipped into her panties.

"Where are you going?"

"Home," she answered tersely.

"Amanda..."

"The boys need me," she told him with no further explanation as she pulled the rest of her clothes back on as quickly as she could, grabbed her purse and headed for the door.

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The next day, after her snippy outburst of "Lee did all the dancing," Lee knew he had to get to the bottom of her sour behavior.

"My, my," Francine laughed. "Seems your girl can't handle a little competition."

"Zip it, Francine," Lee snapped and hauled ass out the door to catch up to Amanda.

He caught up to her just as the elevator door was beginning to close. He caught it with his hand to stop it and slipped in to the car with her. "Okay, you wanna' talk to me now or upstairs?"

"Talk to you? About what?" she questioned obtusely as she kept her eyes straight ahead.

"Oh, How about we start with that crack you just made in Billy's office?"

"Crack? What crack? I was just stating a fact. You were the one who did all the dancing."

"Are you forgetting who I was 'dancing' with last night?" he countered in irritation as he tugged at her arm to get her to look at him. "It sure as hell wasn't the Soviet siren. That woman makes my skin crawl."

Amanda finally looked at him in surprise. "She does?"

"Oh, yeah. The sooner we get this done, the happier I'll be." He reached for her hands, holding them both in his. "I want us to get back to being...well, us...you and me." Now wasn't the time to tell her, but until Sonja had shown up that night that at Emilio's, he'd had every intention of laying it all out on the line that night, had a ring in his pocket and had planned on giving it to her, if she'd take it. He hoped she would. After all, she'd accepted the keys to his home with no questions, hadn't she? That was why his smile had faded so fast when he realized that the brunette who'd walked in wasn't her.

"You mean that?"

"Yes, I mean it." He meant much more than that, but it would have to wait now. Why the hell had Sonja shown up when she did and ruin the moment he'd planned with Amanda? He'd been busting to tell her about Norman's "regulars" comment and thought it would have been the perfect lead-in to asking her to be "regular" with him. But he'd felt he had to be honest with her about bumping into Sonja. He'd desperately tried to recapture the moment by telling her about his talk with Norman and how much he liked the idea, but the mood had been lost by the mention of the Soviet agent.

"Good," she nodded firmly, released his hands and looked back toward the front of the elevator.

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"Steadman. I thought his name was Steadman," Dotty replied to her daughter as she tried to explain, but without really explaining what was going on.

_Not now, Mother, please. Can't you see that I'm a wreck? _"No, Mother, it's Stetson." As she explained the best that she could, it was all she could do to keep calm. She was worried about Lee and still reeling from his blurted out, 'I love you,' just before he'd hung up on her. That was such a Lee Stetson stunt to pull. Of all times to say something like that, it was when he thought they might never see each other again.

After giving her family their instructions, she hurried up the stairs wondering just what she was going to do. She then stared in awe to find the man in question lying on her bed. He jumped up as soon as she walked in. Her heart sank, though when he told her that he'd come to say goodbye. She argued with him that she was all tangled up in it too. When he prepared to actually say goodbye, as desperate as their situation was, she couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face when he reiterated that he loved her face to face. "I have for a very, very long time," he confirmed what she'd already known for a very, very long time, but was elated to finally hear it from his own lips.

Her rambling ways took over as she insisted on going with him, ending it with, "And I love you, too."

Lee smiled back at her and finally conceded, replying simply, "I guess it's your tail too." He'd hated himself for telling her that he loved her the way that he had, but he'd have hated himself more if he'd never gotten a chance to say it at all. The fact that she loved him too was just icing on the cake.


	69. Three Little Words

**Chapter 69-Three Little Words**

"Stemwinder, Part Two"

"We have gone over this a dozen times and I cannot do it again!" Dotty shouted at Billy. Her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't even hold onto the coffee carafe.

Billy took it from her and poured her coffee, gently replying, "You're going to have to try."

"WHY?" she demanded as she slammed her hand down on the table, "What right do you have to come in here and terrorize me and my grandchildren?" Interrogate us like we are criminals, occupy our house, tap our phone? I wanna' tell you something. I have some questions too." She pointed an accusing finger at him.

"I'm sure you do," Billy replied as he rose from his seat to avoid her piercing eyes. "Unfortunately, I'm not at liberty to discuss anythi-"

"Don't give me that!' Dotty snapped, her voice rising to nearly a screech. "You are at liberty to do anything you darn please and you know it!" Did he think she was stupid? She'd seen the way these other agents deferred to him, followed his every order. She knew he was the man in charge. "Now, where is my daughter? When is she coming home? Who is this Stetson man that she keeps mentioning?" _And why did his name keep changing?_ It was Sampson, then Simpson, then Steadman, now, it was Stetson. And why had this man before her not told her the first time she'd met him that he was some sort of a supervisor? She remembered vividly him telling her not to say a word about anything regarding Andrei Zernov...national security, he'd said...and now, he was pulling the same line on her about her daughter.

Billy tried hard to remain calm as he explained to Dotty West that he just didn't have the answers to give her when they were interrupted by Joe's arrival.

Dotty was grateful for the temporary respite from the very trying conversation that had been taking place as she headed to the stairs to let the boys know their father was here, but was halted by her former son-in-law's, "We've met before," directed at Mr. Melrose. _They had? When? _She crept back down to the bottom of the stairs just above the landing. She couldn't catch every word they were saying, but she did catch one thing very clearly, Mr. Melrose was not just a supervisor to the agents bustling around the house, but to Amanda as well.

_But that means..._ No, it wasn't possible. She shook her head as she hurried back up the stairs in the direction of the boys' room. A sinking feeling struck her though as she made her way down the hall and reflected on her daughter's strange behavior over the past couple of years. How Amanda flinched every time she had teased her about being like a spy, how she was so evasive about what she actually did at the office, how her clothes and her car had been damaged so many times... Then there was the big one...the time Amanda had actually _told_ her that she was a spy.

On top of that, it would go a long way to explaining why Mr. Stetson's name kept changing. Come to think of it, it would also explain why she'd received occasional calls asking for Amanda Keene or Amanda Kane. She'd simply chalked it up to computer error since so many places were now using computers these days, but now she knew; it wasn't an error at all. Amanda had been using assumed names as well. It also explained why there was so much secrecy surrounding their personal relationship. Maybe if they were working in a high-security job, as it now seemed that they were, they weren't allowed to be involved on a personal level.

"Oh, my God," she gasped as another thought struck her. Joe _knew_. She'd heard Mr. Melrose confirm that they'd met when he first returned from Africa. That made perfect sense now with Amanda's evasiveness at the time about why she'd insisted on going back to the office and how certain she was that "IFF" would know how to get in touch with her. They must have been investigating the allegations against Joe. Now, she was imagining that Joe must have endured the same kind of questioning that she had over that incident with Dr. Zernov; the same kind of questioning that she was enduring again now. She wasn't sure if having this explanation made her feel better or worse.

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Lee and Amanda walked into their hideout that evening, laden with shopping bags and piled them on the table. "God, I'm so tired," Lee grumbled. "But I'm also dying for a shower."

"Me too," Amanda agreed. "But you..." She gestured to the tiny bathroom off of the main room. "You should go first. You've been without one for longer than I have."

"No. Ladies' first." He repeated her gesture. "I'll just take care of things in here while you do that." He turned to move the coffee table away from the front of the hide-a-bed and removed the cushions from it.

"No, Lee, really, I insist." She began unpacking the shopping bags.

"No, **I **insist." He reached for the metal handle inside the sofa to pull out the bed, knowing that they'd need to get some decent rest if they were going to truly begin their fight to clear their names.

"No...mm-mm." She shook her head as she worked on yanking tags from the fresh clothing they'd just bought with part of Lee's "insurance" money.

He dropped the pull-out bed to the floor with a loud _thunk_ in irritation and turned back to face her. "Amanda, come on! I dragged you into this mess; the least I can do is let you shower first."

Amanda stopped what she was doing to glare at him. "Dragged me into this? Let's get something straight right now! You didn't drag me into this, I volunteered to come with you, to watch your tail!"

"Whoa! Amanda, calm down." He closed the gap between them, took both of her hands in his and tried to soothe her.

"Calm down? Excellent suggestion. How do you suggest I do that? We're fugitives. My family is being interrogated by the agency, Alexi wants us dead, my children are-"

Lee stopped her with a tender kiss to her lips. "I told you I'd think of something so you can let them know that you're okay and I meant that. As for The Agency and Alexi, we'll deal with that too. But we've gotta' stick together. We're supposed to be fighting them, not each other, right?" He searched her wide eyes trying to gauge her emotions. Was she already regretting coming with him?

Amanda nodded and swallowed hard. "You're right. You're right, of course. I just...I'm just so scared." She leaned against him and he wrapped his arms around her, rocking her gently.

"I know," he agreed. "We're in a scary situation here, but..." He sighed. "But we've still got to keep our heads, huh?"

"Hard to do when I feel like we're Bonnie and Clyde again," she muttered woefully.

"We're Mr. and Mrs. Vanderhusson this time, remember?" he teased lightly. When she clung to him tighter, he knew he had to do something to cheer her up. He lifted her chin to look into her eyes and with a mischievous twinkle in his own eyes, suggested, "So, Mrs. Vanderhusson, what do you say we compromise on the shower thing and share it?"

Amanda perked up a bit. "You know, there is always that one spot on my back that I just can't reach myself."

"You know, come to think of it, I have that problem too. I sure could use your help with that," he replied with a smile.

"Clean clothes first," she responded with a firm nod as she resumed her task of unpacking the bags.

Lee soon returned to his task of making up the bed, and then moved to help her and together, they made quick work of putting away their new items, leaving out just the things they'd need for bed. As he closed the top drawer of the dresser, he thought just how much he liked seeing her things beside his. He made a mental note to clean out some of the junk in his home to make some room for her. _If you're able to go home, _the grim thought crossed his mind.

As they began to get undressed, Lee couldn't help thinking of just how far they'd come together. In all the times, they'd undressed around one another, this was the first time that it wasn't about simply getting each other naked so that they could get it on and satisfy a mutual need. This was for another need entirely. Those thoughts cheered him up a bit.

Amanda finished first, and he couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face as he watched her fold her soiled clothing neatly and place them in a tidy pile on the surface of the small dresser before exiting to the bathroom. He finished taking off his own clothes and following her lead, folded them and laid then beside hers, knowing that she'd balk if he just tossed them aside, as was his normal habit.

He stepped into the bathroom to find the compact room already filling with steam from the shower stall and Amanda at the sink, struggling to unclasp her necklace with shaking fingers. "Here, let me," he offered as he reached to move her hair aside. As he worked at the clasp, he noticed a bluish bruise just below her shoulder blade. "What happened here?" he questioned in i concern as he lightly fingered the spot. This was one time he felt that blue was not her color.

She shrugged as she took her necklace from him and set it down on the back of the toilet. "It must have happened when we fell off the trellis. It could have been worse." She then stepped into the shower.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he concurred as he stepped in behind her and closed the door.

"Mmm..." Amanda let out a sigh of relief as she let the hot spray wash over her, soothing her aching muscles.

Her sigh and her closed eyes began to stir something in him, that sound so like the sounds she made in the throes of passion. Shaking off that thought, Lee reached for a washcloth. "Turn around," he commanded hoarsely as he tried to maintain control over his body's reaction to her wet, naked form in front of him. When she complied, he held the cloth under the water for just long enough to dampen it, then reached for the soap, lathered it up and began to move it in soft, slow circles across her shoulders and down her back.

"Feels good," Amanda murmured.

"Yeah?" He moved the cloth down her back, to her firm, round bottom.

"Mm-hmm," she confirmed in a breathy sigh.

"Good. Maybe I should get your front too," he breathed into her ear as he moved closer to her, his hands snaking around her, one on her hip, the other holding the cloth.

When she responded, "Maybe you should," he trailed the cloth across her breasts one at a time, pressing light kisses along her neck and shoulders while he watched in delight as her nipples hardened under his touch and her sighs of contentment began to become low moans of desire. He moved his bare hand to her waist to pull her back against him, letting her know she wasn't alone in her desire. He ran the cloth down her ribcage to her flat stomach, and then feeling bolder by the reaction he was getting from her, dropped it even lower to the apex of her thighs.

"OH!" she cried as he began to manipulate the washcloth in maddeningly slow circles. "Lee, please," she implored.

"Please, what?"

"Please..." she gasped unable to form a full sentence.

"You want this, maybe?" he teased in a low voice as he pressed his erection into her backside and continued to caress her with the cloth, his other hand now moving up to her breast.

"Y-y-yes," she sputtered. When he still only continued to tease her, she yanked the cloth from his hands, turned to face him, and then crouched down.

Lee sucked in a lungful of air in anticipation of what she might do, but she didn't do what he'd expected it. Instead, she took her time running the cloth down the inside of one leg and up the other, carefully avoiding touching him...there. "Amanda," he hissed through gritted teeth.

"Turn around," she ordered as she looked up at him with a stern look on her face. He didn't know what she was up to, but he complied anyway. She repeated the motion from the back of him, down one leg and up the other. Her hand paused between his legs for just the barest of moments, her knuckles barely brushing him from behind in a way that sent shocks up his spine and made his flesh tighten and swell before she moved up to his ass.

"Honey," he growled.

Her heart skipped a beat at hearing that endearment from his lips for the second time that day. This time it was not in the comforting way he had earlier when she'd been upset and worried about her family. Now, it was all about his yearning for her. He turned back toward her abruptly, yanked on her hands to pull her back to a standing position and captured her lips in an explosive kiss, causing her to drop the cloth as she wrapped her arms around him.

He probed her mouth with his tongue as he backed her up against the shower wall, pressing his full length against her. He pulled back from her for a moment to take in the dark look of desire in her eyes and whispered hoarsely, "Do you have any idea what you do to me?"

She grinned and replied saucily, "Oh, I had a pretty good idea this morning when we were under the bridge."

"Oh..." He grimaced slightly and his face fell. "You noticed that, huh?"

"Well, it was kind of..._hard_ not to," she chuckled.

"It's...it's kind of a guy thing...you know, morning-"

She placed a finger to his lips to quiet him. "I know that, Sweetheart. This isn't my first trip to the rodeo, you know."

"No, it certainly is not." He shook his head and then lightly caressed her face, smiling at her calling him 'sweetheart.' Three little words spoken between them had made a world of difference in their comfort level with one another. "But, is it your last?" he asked boldly.

His meaning clear to her, she nodded and answered, "I hope so."

He planted a tender kiss to her lips, his heart soaring, and then suggested, "How about we hold that thought for a while until we finish getting cleaned up."

"Good idea," Amanda agreed as she reached for the shampoo bottle. They took a long, leisurely shower together, taking their time, getting the grime from their escapades washed off while interspersing it with soft kisses and teasing touches until the water began to turn tepid and they were forced to evacuate the steamy stall.

They began to dry each other off, both feeling their freshly scrubbed skin tingling with anticipation, the tantalizing touching they'd shared in the shower leaving them wanting more. Wrapping a towel around herself, Amanda lightly brushed her lips against his before making her way back into the other room, but just as she reached for the nightgown that she'd left on the table, Lee had caught up with her and spun her around to face him, his mouth descending on hers and much like she'd done in the shower with the washcloth, dropped her nightgown to wrap herself around him.

Lee lifted her off her feet to travel the short distance to the bed, delighted by the little squeal she let out, and deposited her on it. He yanked on her towel to expose her curves to his hungry eyes. She reached for the towel at his hips, gave it a tug so that he was equally exposed to her and reached for him, her hands reaching for his firm rear to pull him closer. She took him in her mouth, her hands gripping his butt as her tongue slid over the tip of him.

"OH," he groaned as he grasped her head, his fingers tangling in her wet curls as she set his spine tingling again. "Oh, so good," he murmured, but he knew he wouldn't last long if she kept it up. He gently pushed on her shoulders, laying her back on the bed and covered her lithe body with his own, kissing her soundly as he slid into her welcoming warmth. Lying there with her, he ran one hand along her thigh, the other caressing her face and whispered softly, "I love you." He found that now that he'd said it once, he didn't want to stop saying it. He needed her to know.

"I love you," she responded in kind as she ran a hand through his hair and pushed her hips up to meet him, ran her leg down his and urged him to continue.

Taking her cue, Lee pulled back and pushed back into her again, building a slow, steady rhythm that she matched with her own, taking their time to savor the love they'd found in each other's arms. Why it had taken so long and a near-disaster for them to say the words to each other out loud, neither quite understood. They both knew it had been there all along, so why had they both been so stubborn about it?

"Oh, Sweetheart," Amanda crooned as she wrapped herself around him and they rocked together, both desiring closeness and in no hurry for completion. She found herself astonished to feel her body begin to quiver uncontrollably, her climax taking her by surprise in its suddenness and intensity. "Oh, I love you," she cried out as he reached the sweet spot deep inside her, sending her spiraling over the edge. She became lost for further words as he repeated her words back to her and erupted into her and they rode out the wave together.

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When Lee had finished explaining what Dr. Smyth had decided, she couldn't help the excitement that overtook her. It had been enough for her that she'd been the one to take Sonja down. She'd never forget the inner glee she'd felt as she'd turned the gun on the vacuous vixen and the look of utter defeat on the other woman's face. The fact that it had earned her a promotion was just the icing on the cake.

"So...uh...how is everybody," Lee asked hesitantly, wanting to probe further about the scene he'd just witnessed on her front porch. "Your mom, the kids..." He paused and added pointedly, "Your ex?"

Amanda answered knowingly, "He's fine. You're jealous." She couldn't help the smug satisfaction she gained at seeing him nod in acknowledgment for a change instead of denying his jealousy as he usually did. What a difference three little words made. "Don't be jealous," she reassured him. "I love him. I'm always gonna' love him...but I'm _in love_ with you."

Just then she heard her mother's voice calling through the open kitchen window, "Amanda, did you get him?"

Looking straight at Lee, she deadpanned, "I'm working on it!"

Lee smiled at her. _If she only knew, _he thought, the ring he'd bought her burning a hole in his pocket, but now wasn't the time. She needed time to regroup, to be with her family and besides, he wanted to set up the perfect romantic evening for them to give it to her. Sonja may have ruined the first one, but there'd be others. Now that he knew she loved him, he felt certain of that.

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After Amanda had run outside, Dotty shook her head with a light chuckle at her daughter's rapid departure out the back door with her obvious lie about the Fergusons' dog being in the yard again. She knew that was another of Amanda's works of fiction. She'd seen the Fergusons load the dog into the car in his travelling kennel just this afternoon to take him to the vet in the hopes that having him neutered would stop his wanderlust tendencies after he'd tried to bite one of the visiting federal agents, the one they called Fielder. It was his own fault, of course, because she'd warned him not to mess with the beast, but he'd insisted that he was trained to handle anything.

She supposed she should be angry at her daughter for keeping secrets, but really, how could she stay mad when the younger woman was just following her heart and trying to do what she felt was right? That's what she had always taught Amanda to do, so how could she fault her for that? Clearly, Amanda had been right in doing so because the investigation had been closed and all the charges against both of them dropped, the manhunt called off and she was back home again with her family where she belonged.

She'd had a bit of fun this evening at trying to make her daughter uncomfortable with her web of lies as she'd complained long and loud about Mr. Melrose and the "Brouhaha over a couple of film people," knowing that they were no such thing. Amanda seemed completely unfazed by it though, simply replying, _"I'm sure he was just doing his job." _She'd bet her entire savings that the "dog" in question in the yard was none other than Lee Stetson. She peered out the kitchen window to see if she could catch a glimpse of him, but no such luck. Of course, she'd expected not since the kitchen window overlooked the side of the house and not the backyard.

Dotty couldn't resist teasing her just a bit more and called out the window, "Amanda? Did you get him?" laughing at the reply that came back. "I just bet you are, My Darling," she mused to herself. It had occurred to her that if she were willing to abandon everything, even her children, to follow this man and be by his side when everyone else was against him, she must really feel deeply for him. The way that he was getting bolder about hanging around the neighborhood these days and not bothering to hide his car down the block anymore, she had a feeling he felt the same. She smiled at the thought that maybe...just maybe, he might be bold enough to knock on the front door someday soon.


	70. Classy Interrogation

**Chapter 70-Classy Interrogation**

"No Thanks For the Memory"

AN: For this one, I decided to take another tiny little liberty with Amanda's "cover" at the hospital just to fit this story.

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Lee sighed in frustration at Amanda's news that she had to break another lunch date, but he still couldn't help smiling at her enthusiasm as she put her arms around him and excitedly told him, "It's my first Class C interrogation."

"Oho, now a Class C is a soft interrogation," he reminded her. "Lots of hand-holding, sweet-talking." He slipped his arms around her and suggested in a low, seductive tone, "Maybe we can make up for lost time by practicing on me."

"I don't think you need any..." her statement was interrupted by his attempt to kiss her, "...practice."

"Amanda, I don't see you enough," he complained.

"I'm sorry, but it's work," she argued. "Now, you know that when we are at work, we have to behave like we are at work."

"Mm-hmm," he grumbled petulantly.

"Somebody could walk in the door any minute," she pointed out, thinking of all the times that they'd nearly been caught in the throes of passion over the last three years.

"How very practical of you," he fired back sarcastically. "Except when we are not at work, we are not together enough to suit me," he groused as he punctuated each word for emphasis. "How about dinner tomorrow night at my place?"

"You don't have any food at your place," she teased with a soft chuckle.

He grinned impishly. "Exactly." What he didn't want to tell her is that he'd been dying for them to have a real date night so he could finally ask her the burning question that had been on his mind for weeks. Maybe tomorrow night could be the night.

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Lee let out another sigh of frustration as he entered the hospital in search of his girlfriend. When he found her, he couldn't help smiling as he spotted her in her Bedside Bluebell uniform, fussing with a cart outside their phony Finn's room, bringing to mind the last time he'd seen her in that getup. "What's going on," he whispered behind her causing her to jump.

She turned and slapped him hard on the chest. "Don't do that!" she admonished him.

He chuckled at her reaction, but his laughter quickly died when she pushed him into a nearby storage room with a harsh, "Shh!"

When she closed the door behind them, he couldn't resist teasing her a bit, "Hmm...I remember the last time you dragged me into this room." He placed his hands at her waist and waggled his eyebrows at her. "You were complying with my request to get me a woman after that thing with the Chewy Chubby Bar."

She rolled her eyes at him. "You didn't have any complaints about _your_..." she gave a pointed look the direction of his pants, "...chewy chubby bar after that, if I recall."

"You just wanted to get me alone in this room again, didn't you?" he teased as he lightly fingered the edge of the blue smock she wore for her cover. "You know how I like you in blue." He leaned into her as he spoke, his voice dropping lower.

She wriggled out of his grasp and moved to the other side of him to avoid being pinned against the door as she sensed was his intention by the look in his eyes. When he turned to face her, she scolded, "Would you be serious? That is not why I dragged you in here. I just didn't think we should be discussing this out in the open since I'm supposed to be just an innocent Bedside Bluebell. Now, look, we don't have much time. Mr. Strengall is about to be released any minute now."

"If that's even his real name," Lee muttered.

"Well, I think we can be pretty sure it's not," Amanda pointed out. "But that's not the point. The point is that I'm pretty sure the guy who was talking to him was KGB. "Listen to this." She pulled the tape recorder out of her pocket and pushed play.

Lee nodded as he listened. "Yeah," he replied as he took the recorder from her and snapped it off. He sighed. So much for their date night the next evening. "Okay, okay," Lee grumbled. "What do you need from me?"

"Well, I already called the office for backup and a surveillance team and I managed to shuffle a bit of paperwork around here at the hospital to delay his release, but that won't stop them for long. The guy was pretty determined to get him out of here."

"So, what's the problem?"

"The problem is that I don't know that they're going to honor my request. When dispatch put Beaman on the phone, he seemed awfully mad and I-"

"I'll take care of Beaman," Lee interrupted with a nod.

"I don't want you to take care of Beaman. I can handle him, but I need to make sure that we don't lose Mr. Strengall before we can figure out what's going on. Since you're the senior agent, I was hoping that you could...you know...make sure they listen to me." She looked up at him with pleading eyes as she tugged at his tie to straighten it.

"Yeah. I can do that," he promised with a warm smile.

"Good." She smiled back and yanked on his tie that she still held to pull him to her for a sweet, lingering kiss. She then brushed by him, opened the door, peeked out for a moment to make sure the coast was clear, and then returned to her cart, slipping right back into her cover.

Lee shook his head as he watched her and mumbled, "Bluebell or blue balls?" He just hoped that whatever was going on, they'd be able to wrap it up so he could still have his moment with her to ask her to be his wife.

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As luck would have it, that was not to be the case, neither was his promise to Amanda not to go to bat for her with Beaman once the younger man had started mouthing off about how she'd overstepped her bounds. He'd had to say something when he began second-guessing Amanda's instincts. After all, she'd proven time and time again, that her instincts were usually dead on.

After solving the case, capturing Tolst and getting Zhmed into the defector's relocation program, they were finally, blissfully alone. He had dinner ready, Amanda was here, the boys were with Joe, Dotty with her new beau and no urgent cases that needed to be worked on. "I think we are long overdue for some celebrating," he was saying as he poured two glasses of champagne. "Especially the kind that includes just the two of us. So, with that thought in mind," he glanced toward the kitchen, "some romantic candlelight..." he held up the two glasses, "A little bubbly..." He walked around to her side of the sofa, "And a little romance." He couldn't help the slight smile when he saw that she was peacefully dozing on the very sofa that she'd helped him pick out. He set the glasses down, knelt beside her and whispered, "A _very_ little romance."

He brushed a soft kiss to her lips and was about to leave to let her rest when she grabbed his arm. When he looked at her curiously, she grinned at him, "I may be sleepy, but I'm not dead," and pulled him back to her for a more lingering kiss.

He chuckled at the contented look on her face. "You feel up to dinner?" he inquired.

"Mm-hmm," she answered as she sat up and stretched. "Can't let all that effort of yours go to waste. Besides, I'm starving."

He picked up the glasses, handed one to her, took her hand in his and led her into the dining room.

They took their time as they ate dinner together, just basking in each other's company. Amanda told him all about her mother's new obsession, supposedly with flight school.

"_Your_ mother?" he laughed. "The woman who couldn't parallel park even if she had the whole block to park on?"

While Amanda laughed with him, it became clearer what Dotty was up to, once she had fully explained to him about the instructor. "Well, maybe he'll be as good a teacher to her as you have been to me."

"It helps when you have a good student." He couldn't stop beaming over the pride he felt in her for the job she'd done. "You know, you were amazing through this whole thing," he complimented her while he rose to begin clearing the table a bit later.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, you really were," he praised her. "You accomplished exactly what a Class C interrogation is supposed to accomplish. You gained Zhmed's trust just by sweet-talking and sharing personal stuff. If you'd never showed him that picture of the boys, he'd never have known where to find you, he'd never have shared the truth about his abilities with you and we would never have known what Tolst was up to." He walked into the kitchen carrying the now-empty champagne bottle and their glasses. As he set them down on the counter, he smiled as she saw the blue box that he'd placed there earlier in anticipation of surprising her with it.

"Well, thank you," she responded with a smile as she stepped into the doorway, dinner plates in hand, but then stifled a yawn.

He took the plates from her hands and steered her back out of the kitchen, not wanting to her to see the box. "Come on, let's get you to bed. You look like you're ready to fall asleep standing up."

"Oh, Lee, I'm fine," she argued as he guided her toward his bedroom. "I'm just tired. I bet you are too. You haven't had any more sleep than I have in the past two days. Let me at least help you clean up since you cooked."

"No," he stated adamantly. "You go on. I'll take care of it." He then nudged her toward the bedroom, refusing to take no for an answer. Once assured that she was safely tucked away in his bedroom, he returned to the dining room to finish the job he'd started of clearing the table from their late dinner.

Upon walking back into the kitchen and setting down the remaining dishes, he cast a forlorn glance at the abandoned gift box and shook his head. "Another time," he mumbled as he quickly stowed it away in a drawer so that Amanda wouldn't find it in the morning when she got up. Knowing her, she'd be up before him and insist on making him breakfast. What he wouldn't give to have that every day, even though he wasn't much of a breakfast person. Just to wake up next to her on a daily basis would be enough for him.

He stifled those thoughts for now and turned back to his cleanup. As he washed the dishes, he reflected back on the many times he'd seen her doing the same at her house, and how he'd longed to be a part of her domestic life. That longing was growing with every thwarted opportunity that presented itself. Would they ever have anything normal? Would The Agency always come before their personal life? He hoped not. That was why he was so antsy about making it official. They'd already wasted too much time in trying to pretend that they weren't in love.

He was so lost in his thoughts that before he knew it, he'd run out of dishes to wash. He drained the dishwater, dried his hands and snapped off the kitchen light as he made his way to his bedroom. When he entered the room, he couldn't help another smile forming on his face as he saw that even as tired as she was, she'd still cracked open the window just the way she liked it and had left the bathroom light on for him with the door slightly ajar the way that he liked it so that the room wouldn't be completely dark. _God, I love this woman! _He couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with her.

He got undressed quietly, tossing his clothes into the hamper, something she'd insisted on buying during their shopping trip for the apartment because he didn't have one. He'd known, of course, that she'd had an ulterior motive in suggesting it. She'd wanted to keep him from tossing his clothes everywhere which, more than anything, came from years of habit. He'd never had anyone since his uncle telling him how to keep house. His habit of just leaving things where they landed had become a silent rebellion against the strict, rigid way he'd been raised.

Down to only his boxers, he crept quietly into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and then as he returned to the bedroom, he spotted her overnight bag planted on the chair in the corner of the room. He let out a deep sigh. He'd meant to clear out some room for her in his apartment, but with wrapping up the chaos after Stemwinder and the recent chaos involving Zhmed, he just hadn't had time. _I've got to do that,_ he reminded himself as he slid into bed beside Amanda, sidled up behind her sleeping form, lightly wrapped an arm around her and whispered, "I love you." He wanted her here as often as possible now that she was finally willing to spend the whole night and he wanted her to be comfortable when she was...to feel as if his home was her home. After all, if he had his way, they'd one day be sharing a home on a permanent basis.

"Mmm," she sighed as she gently patted the hand on her hip. "Love you too," she murmured.

His heart leapt at her words and her quiet acknowledgement of his presence. He still remembered the five days she'd spent at his old place when she'd been looking after his health on Billy's orders. That first night, she had awakened startled in the middle of the night, a bit disoriented upon waking to find him wrapped around her. She'd instantly apologized and explained that she was just so used to sleeping alone, she'd forgotten where she was for a moment. Now, here she was contentedly sleeping in his bed without a care in the world. He'd gotten so used to sleeping next to her when during that brief stay and when they'd been on the run that he missed her; so badly, in fact, that he found it hard to sleep without her beside him.

His thoughts were interrupted by her turning to face him, her dark brown eyes fluttering open to gaze lovingly into his as she ran her long slender fingers up his bare chest, sending shockwaves through him. "Hi, Sailor," she teased lightly, a reminder of their brief cruise on the Mata Hari II when she'd insisted she be the captain and he be the crew.

"Hi," his hoarse voice responded as he captured one of her wandering hands with his own and kissed the tips of her fingers. This didn't stop her though as she trailed the fingers of her other hand down his torso to the waistband of his boxers. He quickly repeated his earlier action as he grabbed that hand too. Shifting slightly to hold both of her hands in one of his, he used the other to brush her sleep-tousled hair from her face. "You need to get some real sleep," he scolded lightly.

"I'll sleep, but first..." she pulled one of her hands from his and caressed his face. "I know you gave me a nice compliment on my work and while you may not need it, I think I could use some more practice on my Class C interrogation technique. After all this was my first one." She linked the fingers of her other hand with his. "Hand-holding, right?"

"That's right," he confirmed as he squeezed her hand.

"And sweet-talking," she continued as she scooted closer to him, took his face in both of her hands and began trailing light kisses along his jaw and up to his ear, and them whispered in a low, husky voice. "I love you." She nipped at his earlobe. "And I love being in your bed with you." She moved her mouth down his neck and murmured against his skin and lowered her hands to the bulge in his boxers. "I love making love to you."

Lee hummed in approval and responded in a raspy voice, "I think you've got the sweet talking down." He captured her hands in his again; placing light kisses to each one. "But this...this isn't necessary. I'm just happy you're here. As much as I love making love to you too, I love just spending time with you." He brushed a soft kiss to her lips. "And I love having you in my bed too, not only for that, but just to be close to you. All those times in the past that I tried to get you to spend the whole night with me, it wasn't just about sex, but about having you with me," he confessed.

Amanda nodded. "Oh, I'm not done yet, though." She pulled her hands from his again and rested them against the solid wall of his chest, her fingers, lightly grazing his nipples. "If I remember right, there was also that piece about sharing something personal..." She brushed her lips against his. "I have a confession of my own to make. All those times that I refused to spend the night...it wasn't because I thought you were only after sex." She looked him in the eye then. "It's because, like I said the first time I spent the night with you, I got so used to sleeping alone..."

"You were afraid," he concluded.

"No...well, yes, but not in the way that you mean. I have loved you for so long, I was afraid of getting used to NOT sleeping alone again."

A guilty expression crossed his face then. "That's my fault then. If only I hadn't been so scared to tell you how crazy in love with you I am. I knew you loved me...or at least I thought I did...for...well...ever and I just..."

Amanda smiled. "I think I'm gonna' like this Class C interrogation stuff," she chuckled at his admission of his own cowardice that had rivaled her own.

"Oh?" He ran a hand down her side and then reached to cup her bottom to pull her closer.

"Mm-hmm," she responded, a little shiver of excitement shooting up her spine at his erection pressed against her.

"Well, I think you've got it down, the whole shebang." She always had though. She'd always had the ability to coax things out of him and didn't need any special training for that.

She ran her leg along his and hooked it across his hip needing to be as close to him as she could get. "Are you sure? 'Cause, you know, I always feel like practice makes perfect."

Lee shook his head as he ran his hands under her nightgown. "No, you and I...we don't need more practice. We spent too much time just practicing. Now, it's time for the real thing."

"Yes," she sighed in a throaty whisper as his fingers slipped inside her panties and began to tease her. She closed her eyes and basked in the sensations for a moment before she placed a hand over his to stop him.

"Wha-" Lee began to question, but quieted down when she sat up for a moment to pull her cotton gown over her head. He watched, licking his lips in anticipation as her pert breasts bounced free. The ache he felt for her only grew as he took in the sight of her shimmying out of her panties.

"No more practicing," she stated firmly as she lay back down on her side facing him and once again reached for the waistband of his boxers.

"Let me," he said as he yanked them off, tossed them aside and returned to her waiting arms capturing her lips in a fierce kiss while she slid one leg between his, draped the other across him and guided him into her. "'Manda," he whispered as she began to push against him.

"Lee," she sighed in response as she felt his hand grasping her bottom. She braced her hands on his shoulders as he pushed deeper into her.

Lying face to face, they moved ever so slowly together, neither feeling the need to rush things. Their confessions to one another about how much they enjoyed just being together now that there were no longer any emotional barriers between them only heightened the experience. They kissed, touched, and teased until the longing became too much for them to bear; both of them on the edge of release, Lee finally rolled her over onto her back and with one final thrust, sent the two of them spiraling over the precipice as they whispered words of love to each other.

"I love you," Lee whispered one final time as rolled back over and cradled her against him.

"Thank you," Amanda replied with a cheeky grin. He laughed at that and then laughed even harder when she added, "Now, I really do need to go to sleep."

"Goodnight, My Love." he brushed a soft kiss against her head that was now resting on his chest as they drifted off into a peaceful sleep together, his last thought of her words about getting used to not sleeping alone. _Better get used to it._


	71. Maybe Someday

**Chapter 71-Maybe Someday**

"It's In the Water"

Author's Note: For this one, much of the beginning dialogue comes from the episode itself and/or an unfilmed extended version of the scene expanding on the "A little romance can complicate things," comment of Lee's. As for the love scene, given where I decided to take this, it seemed that the best place for it was as a filler between them being shot at and the scene when they are devising a plan to stop the baddies since they did change clothes between scenes. I hope you like my interpretation of this episode.

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"What happened?" Lee inquired impatiently of Amanda after she'd left Sally.

"I think I got to her," she told him.

"And?"

"She's in love with Carmine," Amanda explained simply.

"Well, so what?"

"So...she's not gonna tell us where he is."

"It's amazing how a little romance can complicate things," he teased as he put an arm around her and pulled her to him as they walked together. While she smiled at first, Lee became concerned when she pulled away with a worried look on her face. There was an awkward silence between them for a moment and then he felt he had to say something to ease her mind. "I wasn't talking about us."

"I know," she nodded in acknowledgement, but the wariness in her dark eyes belied that statement; combined with the fact that she wouldn't look at him. There was another long moment of silence until she just stopped walking and he was forced to stop with her. Once they'd stilled, she looked up at him and pondered, "Do you think we've complicated things?"

"It got complicated the first time I laid eyes on you." he answered honestly.

She rolled her eyes. She knew he was trying to be romantic, but she wasn't in the mood for him to stretch the truth. "You were out of breath, running from a couple of Russian agents the first time I saw you," she pointed out.

"Okay, the second time I saw you," he amended "And the third...and the fourth...The more I saw you and the closer I got to you...and when I touched you...the more complicated it got."

"It didn't have to get complicated," she pointed out, still looking a bit hurt.

"Amanda, I'm a spy...I've always been a spy. While you were having children, I was dodging bullets in Taipei. We're from different worlds and it's not very easy to bring them together." He reached to take both of her hands in his. "But it's worth it."

"Every single minute," she eagerly agreed.

He raised one hand to caress her face, smoothing her hair as he did so. "As complicated as it is...I love you, Amanda." Their relationship might be complicated, but it didn't change the way he felt about her or the fact that he was now more determined than ever to move forward with their life together.

She smiled and squeezed his hand tighter."So, what do we do now?"

"Kiss passionately," he suggested with a devilish smirk.

"Lee..." She gave him a withering look, the one that reminded him that they still had work to do.

His mind back on the real word, he nodded and replied, "I wanna check in and see if the lab boys have come up with anything from Carmine's dissertation notes."

"Sounds good." She nodded. "One other thing." When he gave her a questioning look, she continued, "When we get to the car, can we still kiss passionately?"

He chuckled and answered, "Why wait until we get to the car?" He edged closer to her, the hand on her face he now used to trace her lips with his thumb.

"Lee..." she sighed and then his lips were on hers in a mind-numbing, fierce kiss, his tongue delving into her mouth as he gripped her hand tighter.

"Get a room, you old farts," they heard one of the students yelling from the quad and they broke apart reluctantly.

"Maybe the car was a better idea after all," Lee commented with a chuckle as he took Amanda's hand and they resumed their walk back to the 'vette.

A short time later after ducking bullets, calling the agency to pick up his car and calling a cab, Lee and Amanda walked into his apartment, still picking glass shards out of their clothes. "I don't believe this," Lee grumbled as they headed toward his bedroom to change clothes, him going to the closet and her to the overnight bag she'd begun leaving there. He cringed as it hit him that he still hadn't begun his intended project of clearing some real space for her. "We were that close to getting to Carmine before the bad guys and we lost him."

"It's frustrating, I know," she tried to console him as she sat down on the bed, kicked off her shoes and worked on removing her shredded pantyhose.

"It's more than frustrating," Lee groused. "It's damned infuriating," He tossed his tie into the closet in frustration, not caring where it landed.

Tossing her hose into the wastebasket beside the bed, Amanda stood and closed the distance between them, placing her hands on his shoulders for comfort. "Look, we just have to keep working and hope for the best; hope that we can find them again before they do something to the water supply."

"Got any ideas on how we're supposed to do that?"

"No, but getting upset or angry about it isn't going to help you think of anything either."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." He had to admit that she was right. She always had that uncanny knack of calming him down when he needed it. "You know, Billy said it's going to be awhile before they can send someone to pick us up since Francine was attacked too." He slid his hands to her waist.

"Well, we were getting undressed anyway," she nodded to his partially-bared chest from where he'd begun opening his dress shirt and then lowered her lips to the exposed skin.

"Mmm..." he sighed as he slipped his hands under her skirt and yanked on her panties. "And we did just have a very close call today. What if they succeed next time and we never-" He stopped speaking abruptly as his ministrations with his hands had caused Amanda to cry out. He lifted her up and pressed her lithe body against the other closet door as he lowered his lips to her neck while she worked on freeing him from his pants. "Amanda..." he gasped as she gripped him firmly and guided him inside her. While he hadn't finished the thought, he still couldn't help completing it mentally. What if they were never able to have this again? Or worse; what if he were never able to give her the ring that he'd so meticulously picked out for her; never got to marry her or to even ask her to marry him so that she'd know that was what he wanted?

"Lee..." she whispered his name reverently as she locked her hands behind his neck and her legs around his waist. The way they fit together so seamlessly always amazed her. What if they hadn't ducked in time today and had never had the chance to find out if they could blend their very different lives just as seamlessly? He wasn't wrong earlier in what he'd said about them being from different worlds, but the more time they spent together, the more those worlds melded rather than colliding as they had in the beginning.

"Yes," he hissed through gritted teeth as he drove up into her just as she pushed her back against the door to meet him. "I can't...hold on...for long," he panted.

"Don't try," she replied as she continued to press her body against his to urge him deeper into her. They'd very nearly died today and both were still running on adrenaline and pure, raw need to feel alive again. "LEE!" she screeched as she felt him reaching that spot deep inside that always sent her over the edge while his pelvis pounded against her center, the dual sensations bringing her to her peak just as he called out her name and emptied himself into her.

Breathing heavily, they clung to each other for a long moment until the jarring sound of the phone ringing intruded and brought them back to reality. As Lee lowered her to the ground, she surmised, "Probably Billy."

"Yeah, to let us know someone's on the way." Lee completed her sentence.

"We should finish changing then." Amanda picked up the ruined underwear that he'd yanked off of her and shook her head. "Well, saying 'I love you' didn't change some things," she commented as she lobbed them into the trashcan with her ruined hosiery.

"Go without them," he smirked as he reached for the phone.

"It's just lucky for you that I have an extra pair in my bag."

As Lee answered the phone and listened to Billy, he couldn't help thinking that if he'd get off his ass and clean out his apartment, she'd have room to keep all the stuff she wanted there without having to live out of her bag. Still the thought of her going without underwear made him smile, so maybe he'd wait just a bit longer.

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"Well, you never know...maybe one day..." Lee questioned Amanda with just a hint of mischief in his eyes. He had a feeling that he knew what it was about since she'd just been speaking to Sally about her engagement, but couldn't resist feeling her out about it since he still had her ring burning a hole in his pocket. After nearly being killed and such a close call with the water, he didn't want to waste anymore time in asking her to be his wife, perfect moment or not. He reflected back on their conversation of a couple of days ago and his talking about dodging bullets. Then that very day, only a few minutes later, they'd been dodging bullets together. _So maybe it's not so complicated, after all, _he mused. _Not if she's willing to dodge bullets __**with**__ me._

"What?" Amanda looked at him curiously.

"Well, That's what you said on the phone."

"Oh...yeah." She flushed slightly, not sure that she should say anything that might make him uncomfortable since they hadn't even come close to talking about marriage. The probing expression on his face, however, told her that he wouldn't let up unless he knew, so she nervously explained all in a rush, "Well, she asked me if I thought I'd ever get married again and I said, 'You never know. Maybe someday."

Lee beamed at her, gave her a wink and leaned in for a kiss just as Billy burst in demanding his report.

After he'd left with Billy, Amanda's smile shifted from one of nervousness to one of pure happiness as she reflected on Lee's exuberant smile; him flashing those adorable dimples at her and...the wink. "Maybe someday soon," she spoke aloud as she contemplated the possibilities.


	72. Rules of Engagement

**Chapter 72-Rules of Engagement**

"Nightcrawler"

Author's Note: Once again, I am using scenes from the unfilmed portions of this script to add a bit more depth to parts of this episode. The car scene between Lee and Amanda is based on a bit of dialogue from the script in which Lee was hungover due to celebrating with the gang, I just added my own preceding scene to it. Part of the scene between Lee and Dotty as Lee is leaving is also from the script.

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After leaving the airport, once everyone had cleaned themselves up and changed out of their disguises, Yusef had insisted on celebrating their small victory over Addi Birol. Amanda held onto a tipsy Lee as they made their way out of the bullpen, Yusef and the others cheering behind them. "Amanda, I'm not that drunk," Lee protested as she guided him into the elevator. "I can walk just fine on my own."

She laughed and responded, "Well, maybe I just like having my arms around you."

"Yeah?" He gave her a flirtatious smile.

"Mm-hmm..." she confirmed.

He leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him with a shake of her head and a nod toward the camera in the corner. "Yeah, yeah, yeah," he grumbled. He remembered all too well what had happened the last night they'd gotten close in the elevator.

They rode together in silence while passing charged looks back and forth between them until the elevator opened at the parking garage level where Amanda had left her car. "Come on." She took his hand in hers and gestured toward the Wagoneer. "I'll drive you home."

She had just opened the passenger door of the car when he inquired, "You coming home with me?" he whispered as he pressed against her and nipped at her neck.

"I can't tonight. I need to spend some time with the boys before they go off to Joe's for the weekend." She leaned her head back to allow him better access to her neck, a sigh escaping her lips as he plundered the soft skin there with his mouth.

"What can I do to convince you," he murmured into her ear while he pushed her into the passenger seat and reached for the lever to lower it to a reclining position.

"Lee!" she squealed but before she could protest much further, he was in the seat with her, hovering above her. Unable to resist the dark look of desire in his eyes illuminated by the faint glow of the garage lights, she pulled him down to her and then it became a frenzied tug-of-war as the pair fumbled with buttons and zippers, all the while kissing feverishly.

Lee pulled back from their kiss for a moment, breathing heavily as he slipped his hand between them and under her skirt. When she let out a gasp, he teased in a low, gravelly voice, "Convinced yet?"

"Lee, please," she implored, the plea in her tone and in her eyes, a contradictory mix of begging him to continue and not to make her choose between him and her children.

"I understand," he acknowledged. He cupped her face with his free hand and whispered, "I love you," as he pushed himself inside her.

"I love you," she returned and pulled him down to her for another scorching kiss as he began to rock slowly into her, as this is all the small space would allow.

He let out a loud groan as she braced one high-heeled foot against the dashboard to allow him deeper penetration. He tore his mouth from hers and cried out her name as he felt her begin to tremble beneath him. "Yes, Amanda!"

Unable to form words any longer through her rapid breathing and pounding heart, Amanda let out a sharp, strangled cry as her release hit her full force, the look in his eyes as he soon followed sent her emotions reeling. She pulled him down to her once more. As she came down from her high with his heaving panting in her ear, her only thought was that she couldn't possibly love this man any more than she already did.

"Convinced...yet?" he growled as he lifted his head to look her in the eye, an impish twinkle in his own.

"Okay, okay, for a little while." When his expression turned to one of gloating, she quickly added, "But only for a little while. I can't stay."

True to her word, she stayed and kept him company for a while, but was surprised the next morning when she walked into the Q Bureau with her morning flowers and an envelope that Mrs. Marston had handed her and took a look at the drink he was mixing as he stood at his desk. She deposited her flowers in the vase on her desk, taking a moment to make sure they were straight and inquired, "How's the hangover?"

He looked at her sheepishly. "What are the chances of me denying it?"

"Zero." She nodded to the glass as she dropped her purse on her desk and the envelope on his. "When you're mixing a Virgin Mary at nine in the morning, you're whipped." She moved behind him and pressed him into his chair with a hand on each of his shoulders and then began to gently massage his temples.

"Mmm," he let out a contented sigh as he closed his eyes. "You're right. Remember being twenty-five? I'd go all night and shake it off with a cold shower and a strong pot of black coffee?"

"When I was twenty-five, I'd go all night with a crying baby. I wasn't pub-crawling through the Casbah like you were."

He opened his eyes then and looked up at her. "I'm not entirely to blame for my condition. Yusef kept handing out cigars and calling for another toast. I couldn't insult him." He leaned into her touch and closed his eyes again.

"Easy for Yusef. All he drinks is sparkling cider," she pointed out as she moved her hands to rub his closed eyes. "Do you even remember when I left?"

He reached up to clasp her hands, holding them in place over his eyes. "Ten," he stated firmly. "We walked out to your car." He grinned then. "It was dark...the seat goes WAY back...We-"

"I believe you," she cut him off, but then couldn't help smiling. "The seat does go way back, doesn't it?" She paused for a beat as the pair took a silent moment to smile at the shared memory. She let out a sigh that she knew it couldn't last. There was still work to be done. "If you feel up to focusing your eyes, they pulled some good stills off of the surveillance tape."

Lee nodded, took a moment to bring her hand to his lips and kissed her palm before sitting upright. "Thanks." He gave her an affectionate smile as she moved from behind his chair.

They went through the photos together, Lee pinning them to the board, one at a time as they discussed them and tried to plan their next move against Birol.

The conversation about Birol and Night Crawler came to a halt for a moment as Lee paused to study Amanda as she sat in his chair, fixing her with a long gaze directly into her eyes. "What are you looking at?" she questioned.

"You...I was thinking..." Could he do it now with so much on the line? _No, _he sternly told himself. _Not the right time. Better to wait until Birol was behind bars where he belonged_.

"What?"

"You...you're a whole lot better for a hangover than tomato juice."

"Flatterer." She smiled sweetly, but when he approached her, she held up one finger, shot him a cheeky grin and added, "Almost makes up for the fact that you begged me to come home with you, passed out ten minutes later, and now this morning, you've got the order of events all mixed up." 

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_"When a bachelor starts thinking about his pension, bring on the rice," _Edna D'Angelo's words kept ringing through Amanda's head as she watched Lee at his desk going through the paperwork the older woman had left for him. As if feeling her gaze on him, he turned his head her way and gave her an nervous smile.

She quickly looked back at her completed class work, giving it a once over to make sure she hadn't missed anything. With a glowing smile on her face, she thought, _You may be right, Mrs. D'Angelo_. Of course, she'd had her suspicions for a while now; at least a couple of weeks since she'd seen the beautiful blue gift box in his kitchen drawer when she'd spent the night after wrapping the case with Zhmed. She hadn't opened it because that would have been an invasion of his privacy, but she could guess what was inside after his probing about her call with Sally Boyer last week. Now, that combined with Mrs. D'Angelo's comments, she was certain of what was on his mind.

Lee caught Amanda staring at him again and finally put the papers down, strolled over to her desk, sat on the edge of it facing her, took her hand in his and softly whispered, "Amanda..."

Her breath caught in her throat, a shiver of anticipation shooting up her spine, "Y-y-yes," she stammered. _Was this it?_

Lee was reaching into his pocket for the ring box he'd been carrying around when the door opened. He quickly released Amanda's hand and jumped up from his perch when Beaman walked in with a stern look at Amanda, "Amanda, you got your assignment done yet?"

"Oh, yes, here it is," Amanda chirped as she handed it to him.

"Humph, it was due yesterday," he reminded her.

"Billy gave her an extension, you know," Lee barked at Beaman. "Since she's helping me on the ATAC team, he thought _that_ was more important. You know, _actual _work instead of theorized simulations."

Beaman's jaw clenched at Lee's words, but he bit back the retort on his lips at seeing the hard expression on the older agent's face. He nodded curtly to Amanda and said a clipped, "Thank you," before rapidly departing.

The mood broken, Lee sighed and flung himself back into his chair. When were they ever going to catch a break?

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Standing in the doorway between Amanda's kitchen and den, Lee couldn't help all the memories of her that washed over him. He saw her in everything around him, even the most mundane, the refrigerator that he'd rummaged through in search of half-and-half for his coffee, the kitchen island where they'd once made love, the sofa he'd slept on when he'd pretended to be dead, the breakfast table where he'd watched her interacting with her family so many times while he'd been lurking in the backyard. He let out a deep sigh. The time for lurking was over. He had wanted so badly for so long to be a part of her everyday life and just when he thought that they were getting closer... He shook his head to shake off those thoughts and that was when he caught the curious, probing look that Dotty West was giving him. He cleared his throat loudly and apologized. "I'm sorry. I was just..." He gestured ineffectually. "I was just thinking."

"I was just staring," Dotty responded baldly while still looking him up and down. _So, this is my daughter's long-time lover, _she thought. She could most definitely see why he'd captured her non-stop attention and why she'd found it so hard to stay away from him. "You have no idea _how_ many times I've wondered about you."

Lee smiled, a bit pleased with her comment and amused by her forthrightness. He could see where Amanda came by that trait. "Well, the feeling's mutual," he replied honestly. He'd wanted to meet her mother face-to-face for a long time now. He'd just never imagined that it would be under these circumstances. He was more determined now than ever that the next time he saw Amanda, he'd bite the bullet and propose to her then and there. _If you see her again, _the skeptic in him taunted.

"Hmm," Dotty commented with a warm smile. Maybe her suspicion that it was only the nature of the job that had kept him from properly meeting the family and having an open relationship with her daughter was accurate and not her original thought of a couple of years ago that he was just a Romeo looking to score. He certainly didn't seem like the ruthless cad type. Not to mention that Amanda was generally a good judge of character, so it was likely that she wouldn't have continued carrying on with him in a romantic sense if she didn't trust him with her heart.

"I...um...I wanted to let you know that Amanda will be gone...um...at least another day." He hadn't realized that it would be this difficult to talk to Dotty face to face. After all, he'd spoken to her numerous times on the phone and courtesy of Amanda, he knew practically everything about her. But unlike the lie he'd told her, this was no social call. He needed to let her know, without letting her know, that Amanda wasn't going to be coming home tonight. He tried to keep his expression neutral and not let her see how terrified he was that she might not come home at all.

The phone rang then, giving him a blissful reprieve from the awkwardness that he felt. "Well, maybe that's her," Dotty suggested. "She usually calls when she goes out of town." She walked toward the ringing phone. "Fact is, she's usually with you," she added pointedly just before she picked up the phone. "It's for you, Mr. Stetson." She handed him the phone, rolled her eyes and in a voice dripping with sarcasm added, "I wonder why that doesn't surprise me."

As she listened to his phone conversation, her curiosity only grew. Clearly, he was trying to speak in code so she wouldn't know what was really going on. She couldn't help noticing the way he fidgeted nervously as he spoke in clipped tones to whoever the woman was on the other end of the line. Was she another agent? She'd identified herself as Francine Desmond from "IFF," but that didn't mean she was a spy. She could be just a receptionist or something, she supposed. She could swear the name sounded familiar to her, but she couldn't quite place it. Had Amanda mentioned her before?

When he turned with an obviously forced laugh about the crazy people at the office, she wondered what was really going on. Was Amanda in some kind of trouble? She thought of her words to him about how Amanda was usually with him on out-of-town assignments. She'd figured out that the two of them must be partners on the job as well in their personal life, so why wasn't he with her, wherever she was? Was this visit a precursor to preparing her for the news that her daughter might not be coming home at all? That thought disturbed her more than she cared to contemplate.

When he finished his phone call, he turned back to her, but before he could say anything, she jumped in with, "So, the office knows you're here apparently."

"Oh, yeah...uh...I told them I'd be stopping by to let you know that there was an equipment malfunction on the set of the new film Amanda's working on," he explained, using the carefully plotted-out cover story he'd come up with to justify Amanda's absence. "You know how modern technology can be. I'm actually going to be heading out with another crew to give them a hand, but production is halted until then."

"I see," she replied disbelievingly and folded her arms across her chest. "Exactly what kind of film are you working on this time?"

"Sorry, I can't give you any details. You know, since we work for the government, some of the stuff we do is classified."

"Humph," she snorted. "You know, you and Amanda, you sound an awful lot like that...that Mr. Melrose who was here when the two of you took off together."

"I...you know, that...um...that was just a mix-up," he sputtered awkwardly. "I...uh...I should go. We've got a deadline to meet." _Did they ever, _he thought grimly. If they didn't get to Birol before he actually tried to hurt her...or trade her...or worse, sell her... _No, it's not gonna' happen. I'm not gonna' LET it happen, _he argued with himself. He glanced at Dotty to find her staring at him again and hurried toward the landing to escape her intense gaze. _Dammit! _He cursed himself for letting his fear show on his face.

"I'll walk you out," Dotty offered.

_Great. _"Great," he replied with a cheerier disposition that he felt and quickly made his way across the landing and into the foyer, Dotty hot on his heels.

"Next time, I want to hear all the details of the grand adventure you went on with my daughter," Dotty gushed, thrilled at finally meeting the man who'd captured her daughter's attention for the past three years.

"It was all a big mistake," Lee answered as he shuffled his feet nervously at the front door of the King house.

"You sound just like Amanda. She hasn't told me enough about her job in the last three years to fill a post card." She put her hands on her hips and gave him a perturbed look as she thought of all the danger he and Amanda must have faced during their time together, yet neither seemed willing to share any details.

"It's pretty routine..." he hedged, but then in his mind questioned the use of that word. How he wished it was routine, or at least they could have some semblance of a routine life in between their harrowing adventures. Hell, he couldn't even find time to propose to her properly.

"But what routine?" When Dotty pounced on that word just as Lee had in his own thoughts, he couldn't help but smile slightly."She comes home soaking wet, scorched...sometimes she doesn't come home at all..." Dotty paused for a moment and gave him a pointed look. "I tell her to get married, put on a few extra pounds...There's a routine...Not a thrill a minute, but you don't get scorched."

"Sounds pretty good," Lee agreed with a smile. This time, he really did agree with her. He'd love to see Amanda get married, as long as he was the one she was marrying. He wouldn't even mind her adding a bit of weight to her svelte frame, especially if it were due to her carrying his child. _Don't go there, Stetson, _he scolded himself. _You still haven't even asked her to marry you yet, let alone talked to her about the possibility of more children. Not to mention that the children she already has don't even know you._

He was pulled from his reverie by Dotty's exuberant voice. "Then _you_ tell her," she stated emphatically with an all-too knowing look. "Maybe she listens to you better than she listens to me." She was pleased with the fact that he seemed to agree that marriage sounded good to him. Maybe it wasn't the job at all that had been keeping him away. Maybe it was her stubborn daughter playing cautious when she should be diving right in.

Lee laughed despite the dire situation, "Yeah, that'll be the day."

"You too, huh?" Dotty scrutinized his face, trying to discern what he was hiding behind his dimpled grin. "Between you and me, since Amanda won't say a word, are things serious between the two of you?" Lee opened his mouth to speak, but Dotty held up her hands to stop him. "And before you go telling me that you're not involved, you just work together, it's all business, or any other such nonsense, let me tell you...I've heard it all from Amanda and I don't believe a word of it from her either. I mean, I've seen the ruined clothes, grass stains on her nightgowns, torn to shreds pantyhose and underwear...or sometimes just missing..."

"I...um...I really can't talk about that." Lee flushed at Dotty's bluntness as he thought of all the times he was responsible for those things, including just last week.

"Why can't you?"

"I'm not the kind of guy to kiss and tell," Lee countered equally as bluntly as Dotty.

"So, you admit there's been kissing, at least? I've seen it with my own eyes, you know." She glanced out the door and nodded to his car at the curb. "For example, the two of you were out there one night...oh, about a year and half ago or so, leaned up against the very car you're driving right now, kissing so passionately that I thought that I might have to turn the hose on you."

"Um...listen, I've gotta' go if I'm gonna' meet Amanda. It was very nice to meet you finally." He reached to shake her hand as he had when he'd first arrived and trotted down the walk toward his car. 

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Billy's words about how he should marry, and how he'd been a lone wolf too long, kept running through Lee's head as he and Amanda talked about how dire their situation was. He mentally cursed himself for letting his fear of it being the wrong time take over. _It's now or never, _he commanded himself as he knelt before Amanda and took her hands in his. "We might not make it out of this one."

Amanda shook her head as she fought back the tears that threatened. "Yeah, I know and that really stinks, doesn't it." She hung her head.

"Hey," Lee cajoled softly to get her attention as he gently lifted her head to face him. When she met his eyes, he continued with the speech he'd been practicing for weeks. "Amanda King, you are the best, the bravest, the smartest, most beautiful woman I have ever known..."

"I love you," she interrupted, touched by his words.

"Then will you marry me?" he finally asked.

Her eyes widened in surprise. She'd believed at first that he'd just been trying to boost her spirits as was his habit when they were in trouble. "Will I...marry you?" She repeated to be sure she wasn't hallucinating again. When he gave her a shy smile and a nod, she felt her heart soaring despite the danger they were in and couldn't help mimicking his infectious smile. "Oh, yeah, I'll marry you. We're the luckiest two people on the face of the earth." They shared a laugh and several sweet kisses to take a moment to celebrate before Lee got back to the list and then cuddled happily in one another's arms.

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A few days later after having some time to recover from their ordeal, Amanda sat down at her desk to find the blue box she'd seen in Lee's kitchen drawer a couple of weeks ago sitting in the center of it. She held her breath in anticipation as she untied the satin ribbon, not releasing it until she'd opened the velvet box inside. Her heart gave a little leap as she removed the ring from its cushioning, holding it aloft and watching the sparkling of the diamond as it caught the morning sunlight streaming in through the windows.

He'd picked the perfect ring for her, simple, classic and elegant. Once more, she thought she couldn't love him more if she tried. She didn't even care that his proposal hadn't been a traditional one; it was fitting to their relationship. Nothing about them from the beginning had been traditional, so why should their engagement be? She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that he'd entered the room until he was in front of her and took the ring from her hand and wordlessly slipped in onto her finger. Awestruck, she gazed at it the entire time and marveled at the coolness of the metal against her skin. Finally, they beamed at one another as Lee held her hand and they shared a long, lingering kiss.


	73. Long Lost Weekend

**Chapter 73-Long Lost Weekend**

"Billy's Lost Weekend"

When Amanda bustled down the stairs with more than her usual morning cheeriness, Dotty tilted her head as she looked at her and inquired, "So, what's got you in such a good mood today?'

"What, Mother?" Amanda replied with a touch of annoyance in her tone as she poured her coffee. "You know me. I'm just an upbeat morning person."

"Pollyanna was never that upbeat," Dotty responded dryly. She then grinned at her daughter. "Could it have anything to do with this 'work' trip you're taking with your Mr. Stetson this weekend?"

Amanda rolled her eyes as she stirred her normal sugar into her coffee. "Don't say MY Mr. Stetson, Mother. I told you we're just..."

"Friends," they finished together, and then Dotty continued with, "Well, it didn't seem that way to me when I _finally_ met him last week."

Amanda tossed her spoon into the sink and let out a sigh and how pointedly her mother had said, "finally." She'd known this was coming ever since Lee had told her in Addi Birol's lair that he'd been to the house. She took a deep breath and tried to play it cool. "By the way, this trip IS a work trip," she stated adamantly.

"Of course it is, Darling," her mother nodded. "A work trip that just happens to fall on a weekend that Joe has the boys and you just happen to be so excited about going to work today when...coincidentally, Joe also happens to have the boys for the whole week."

"Oh, Mother, really." She let out another sigh and rolled her eyes.

"But if you say it's work, it _must_ be work, right?" Dotty handed her a plate. "Here's your breakfast."

"Thank you."

"I was just hoping that Mr. Stetson would have taken the advice I gave him," her mother continued with a dramatic sigh.

"Oh, and what advice was that?" Amanda inquired curiously as she sat down at the breakfast table. Lee had told her all about her mother's probing questions regarding their jobs, their relationship, and about their running off together during the Stemwinder fiasco while she'd been in The Agency's infirmary. Was there something else that Lee hadn't told her about?

"That's between him and me. What I want to know is what's going on between him and you."

"Mother!"

"Amanda, I'm just concerned for you, Darling. I mean this love affair has been going on for three years now and you don't seem to be any closer to-"

"Mother, stop!" her daughter cut her off.

"Okay, okay. It's your life." Dotty sat down across from her with her own plate. "At least I got to meet him..._finally_."

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That evening, the mood shifted drastically between her and her mother when Amanda arrived home unexpectedly. "Hello, Mother. You're really cooking," she teased.

It was Dotty's turn to roll her eyes, "Captain Curt and I were just...talking."

"Oh, no, I know. I meant...cooking...cooking in the kitchen." Amanda's eyes danced with amusement at the chagrined look on her mother's face, tickled that for once, the shoe was on the other foot.

"Of course you meant in the kitchen," her mother replied dryly. "It was just an impromptu dinner. The captain brought me this..." She indicated the shawl she wore as she wrapped it around herself with a flourish. "...and some records." As she heard the music change in the den, she called to her date, "Not a samba...a tango," then turned back to her daughter. "I didn't think you'd be home because...uh...the boys are with their father." In truth, she had thought that her daughter would be spending every possible moment with her own gentleman friend since she didn't have the children to worry about for a change.

Taking her mother's meaning, Amanda agreed, "I shouldn't be. I should be at the office working. I could get a lot more done." She twirled her keys in her hand. "You're right, Mother. You're absolutely right. I shouldn't be at home. I'm sorry." She really was too. If anyone understood how irksome it was to have a romantic evening interrupted, she did.

"Amanda, don't be silly," Dotty scolded.

"Mother, I'm not being silly," she argued.

"Of course you're being silly and you think I'm being silly too."

"No, I don't," Amanda stated adamantly. She thought it was nice that things were going well for her mother with her new beau.

Dotty tried to distract herself by focusing on the salsa and found herself taking a moment to get lost in the music before catching herself, clearing her throat loudly, "Maybe...maybe it would be better if you did your 'work' at the office."

Amanda gave her mother a smile and a nod. "Probably so."

Apprehensively, Dotty asked her daughter in a hushed tone. "Amanda...? Do you think I'm being silly?"

"Mother!" Amanda rolled her eyes in exasperation, and then in a gentler tone assured her, "No-o."

"He's being a perfect gentleman."

She wasn't sure if that made her mother happy or disappointed that he was being such a gentleman, so she said dramatically, "Now, look...uh...I've got a lot of work to do, so..." She let out a deep sigh. "...Oh, gee, I'll probably be home real late...not before, I don't know, one...maybe...two o'clock." At seeing her mother's slightly embarrassed smile, she added, "Not that it makes any difference," to let her mother know that she approved before she danced out the back door.

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Arriving at Lee's door, a short while later, she was pleased that he seemed happy to see her as he greeted her with a kiss. She was beginning to really enjoy things like that, especially the fact that he no longer seemed shy or embarrassed about showing her little displays of affection.

She was just making herself comfortable on his sofa when he said the words that made her cringe a bit, "Amanda, I wanna talk to you about something."

"What?" She gave him an apprehensive look.

"I didn't change any plans, but you got me thinking this morning. I really forced you into this ski trip."

"You didn't force me into it," she began talking over him. After a few more minutes at cross-purposes with him throwing multiple options at her, she finally said, firmly, "I'm gonna' have the best possible time that I can have on a vacation, just because I'm with you." Didn't he get that yet? Didn't he understand that she wasn't like the women of his past and that he didn't need to come up with some extravagant vacation trip to make her happy? "I don't need all these choices. I don't _want _all of these choices; I don't wanna' have to _make_ a choice. I wanna' go skiing." She saw the hesitation still on his face, but before she could continue, there was a knock on the door.

"Are you sure?" He'd come up with the whole idea of this trip simply to give them some time together away from the pressures of work where they could celebrate their engagement and give her some much needed down time to mentally recover from her unwelcome time spent with Addi Birol.

"I'm sure," she reassured him as he went to get the door.

As luck would have it, Billy's arrival had halted any further conversation about it and he'd swept out the door with their boss in his infiltration gear.

Arriving home two hours later, exhausted, frustrated and sweaty after their excursion at the Estoccian embassy, Lee perked right up when he walked into his bedroom to find his fiancée' sound asleep in his bed. He smiled as he approached her side of the bed and knelt to brush a soft kiss to her lips, trying not to wake her in the process. Just the fact that she had a "her" side of the bed in his home made him smile. It had taken a lot of time...and a lot of arguments to get to that point. They'd discovered when shackled together in the swamp that she liked to sleep on her left side while he preferred sleeping on his right and though they had argued about it then, they now found it was perfect because it made it easy for them to fall asleep in one another's arms.

He stood and just watched her at slumber for a moment, thinking to himself just how much he was looking forward to coming home to her every night. He let out a soft chuckle as the thought of that long-ago night in the swamp and how he grumbled about being shackled to her. What a difference a year made. He sometimes found it hard to believe that it had only been a year because now he knew that he couldn't wait to be shackled to her for the rest of his life. With those thoughts still running through his mind, he silently stripped out of the clothes that were now sticking to him and made his way to the bathroom to take a quick shower before joining her in their bed.

The water was just beginning to heat up when he heard the bathroom door creak open and before he had a chance to say anything, Amanda had stepped into the shower behind him and was gently kneading his tense shoulders. "Ahhh..." he let out at contented sigh. "How is it that you always know just what I need?" he mused rhetorically. He only wished that he could be as good at knowing what she needed. He'd thought that by giving her more options for their trip, he was doing the right thing by her. He'd always been so selfish in relationships before...he knew it and he was trying so hard to put her needs before his, but she'd made it clear that she didn't need that from him. So, what did she need? "Amanda..." He turned to face her, but was unable to say another word as she pressed her lips to his and wrapped her arms around him.

Amanda let out a low moan as she felt the arms of her fiance' enveloping her waist, one of his hands sliding downward to cup her rear. She began to trail light kisses along his jaw, his throat and to the sensitive spot on the lower part of his neck that she'd long ago found got him revved up. "I love you," she breathed against his skin as she ran her hands down the hard plains of his chest, delighting in the sounds of approval he was making.

"Mmm...I love you," he responded in kind as her touch began stirring the flames of desire. Before things could get too carried away, he stopped her by holding her head in both of his hands and looking her straight in the eye. "Are you sure?" he asked her hesitantly, much as he had before he'd left with Billy. They hadn't made love since he'd rescued her from Birol, wanting to make damn sure that she was recovered enough from her ordeal to be certain that he wasn't going to add to the trauma she'd suffered at the terrorist's hands. He'd noticed her being a bit quieter than normal and the couple of nights she'd spent with him right afterward to recover from the exhaustion of sleep deprivation, she'd awoken several times in the middle of the night due to having nightmares. She'd brushed if off as simply her mind still trying to sort out the reality from the hallucinations, but he couldn't help worrying.

"I need you, Lee," she whispered hoarsely, her voice ragged with desire. She squealed in delight when her fiancé again grabbed her hips and kissed her passionately, plundering her mouth with his tongue as he pressed his erection against her. She moaned against him as he lowered his head to trail kisses down her neck, her chest, and her stomach before reaching his final destination. "Oh, Lee," she cried out as he caressed her with his tongue. She braced herself against the shower wall as the sensations he was creating were making her weak in the knees.

Lee grasped her bottom to steady her and keep her from losing her balance as he devoured her, delighted in the sounds she was making. He increased the pressure with his tongue, using her cries as a guide and moved one hand to slip a finger inside her. When he felt her shuddering above him, heard her joyous cries of release, he was sure he'd fulfilled the raw need he'd seen in her eyes. Removing his finger from her, he ran his hands from her bottom to her back as he stood and tenderly kissed her again before pulling back to look into her passion-glazed eyes. "Lee..." she whispered in a pleading tone as she reached to stroke him, still needing more of him.

"Amanda..." he began in a warning tone, not wanting to push her too far when he knew that she still had issues to work through.

"Please," she whimpered as she gripped him harder, her thumb sliding over the tip of him to entice him.

Unable to resist her pleas any longer, he grasped her hips again, propped one of her legs up on his hip and pushed himself into her gently, searching her eyes for any signs of hesitation. When she only pushed her back against the wall to urge him deeper into her, he lifted her up and drove into her in earnest, her cries spurring him on as she wrapped her arms around him. He knew that with as long as it had been, he couldn't hold on for long taking great care to hold her steady with one arm, he slipped the other hand between them to stroke the already-swollen sensitive nub at her center and when he heard her screaming his name in release again, he thrust into her harder, his own release soon following. "I love you, I love you, I love you," he chanted as he emptied himself into her.

They stayed locked together like that for a long moment as they held each other until Amanda's breathing had slowed enough to softly whisper, "I love you," as she planted her feet back on the floor of the shower. "And thank you."

Lee let out a chuckle as he brushed one more kiss to her lips. "No...thank you."

"I'll let you finish your shower now." She nodded as she turned to exit the shower, reached for a fluffy bath towel and wrapped herself in it.

"Huh," Lee shook his head. As much as he loved her, he still just couldn't get over just how much of a mystery she was to him. He was glad he'd have the rest of his life to unravel that particular mystery.

As he slipped into bed beside her a while later, she moved immediately into his arms nestling herself against him. "I love you," she murmured.

"I love you, too," he replied as he draped an arm around her. As she drifted off to sleep against him, he couldn't help wondering what was going on in her mind. She'd been through so much in the past couple of weeks, between what Addi Birol had done to her and the intense therapy sessions she'd been going through as a result.

He'd noticed that while her normal heart necklace was being repaired, she'd switched to wearing a cross. He'd been wanting to ask her about it, but wasn't sure that he should. Was she wearing it for comfort because of all that had happened to her? Was it a coping mechanism? Or was it simply a convenient choice while the one that had previously been her favorite was in the shop? If that was the case, why that one? He'd seen her wearing other necklaces before such as the simple diamond solitaire pendant. He'd like to think that that was all it was; a matter of convenience and that she was still the strong, resilient woman he'd always believed her to be who didn't need faith in an unseen higher power to make it through. They'd never even discussed church or religion, so was this something she really believed in or was she simply using it as a crutch to get by? He knew that he'd never taken much stock in that sort of thing with all the losses he'd suffered and all that he'd seen, but how much did he really know about the inner workings of her mind? Every time he thought he knew everything about her, something new would surprise him. He had asked Billy about it a few days ago and had expressed his thoughts and worries, who'd simply replied that Lee should know better than anyone and that Amanda was strong. He knew she was, but was she as strong as he believed that she was?

"Yeah, right," he muttered. Now, was not the time to broach that subject with Billy again though, not with everything he was going through himself.

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Lee felt quite a bit more reassured two days later when seeing Amanda in action and how she just dove right into capturing the bad guys and recovering the Kalahari List with him and Billy.

"She's gonna' be fine, Lee. Just fine." Billy beamed proudly as he nodded at Lee.

"I know," Lee nodded back and the two men exchanged a quick glance, both acknowledging that they were speaking of more than her progress as a field agent.

That night, Lee felt even better after Billy had left and informed them that he'd taken them off the duty roster for the next day. After Billy's words of praise on Amanda and him voicing his approval of their relationship, his heart felt lighter than it had since before capturing Birol. He had even leapt in his exuberance and gotten Amanda laughing as he'd nearly tripped over the coffee table in doing so. "It's so good to hear you laugh," he gushed without thinking and then looked at her sheepishly as he gauged her reaction. He'd become more worried about her in seeing how fiercely she'd argued with Claudia Joyce against retiring Billy. He knew that she'd also in a way been arguing for herself because if she weren't deemed to have made a full recovery from her torture at Birol's hands, she could easily be booted as well.

"It feels good to laugh again," Amanda acknowledged, giving him a knowing look. "I'm okay, Lee, really." She'd seen the terrified look in his eyes; had seen how he'd been walking on eggshells around her, and how he'd treated her as if she'd break down as easily as a two-hundred dollar car if he made the wrong move.

"Good." He breathed a sigh of relief. "By the way, I have something for you." He reached into his desk drawer for the jeweler's box he'd stowed there earlier in the day. He sat back down beside her with it and handed it to her.

Her eyes widened in delight as she opened it to find her favorite necklace nestled inside. "My necklace!" She lifted it gently from its velvet housing. "Put it on for me," she insisted as she handed it to him and turned to give him access to the one she currently wore.

"My pleasure," Lee responded as he unclasped the cross necklace she wore and replaced it with the heart. Amanda turned back to face him and he smiled at her. "Looks good."

"Good." She nodded as she took the other one from him and put it in the box. "Now, I can give this one back to Mother." She set the box on the coffee table.

"That one is your mother's?" he questioned.

"Yep," she replied with another nod. "Well, you had told her such a great cover story about an accident and an equipment disaster to explain my absence and I HAD to explain what happened to my necklace too, so I just tied it in with your cover story and told her it had gotten broken in the process and that that's how I'd gotten the bruise on my face. She was so concerned that she insisted on lending me that one to wear for luck while mine was being repaired. She said she hoped having it would help prevent any more disasters like that. I tried to argue that I have plenty of other necklaces, but she wouldn't take no for an answer. You know how my mother can be."

"Yeah, I know." Lee laughed at her story as he thought back to Dotty West's loud hinting that he should marry her daughter. While he laughed on the outside, on the inside he breathed another sigh of relief that that had been Amanda's only reason for wearing the cross and not that she was still harboring some deep-seated trauma.

"On that note," she added. "Now, that she's met you, you're expected to come to dinner some time."

"I think we can work something out." He smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips, before adding, "But _after_ our long weekend."

Amanda swung her legs across his lap and linked her hands behind his neck, resuming their earlier position before Billy's untimely knock on the door had interrupted them. "So, I have to ask you a question."

"Shoot." he replied eagerly.

"Mother told me that she gave you some advice, but she wouldn't tell me what is was. So, I'm just dying to know, what was it?"

"Hmm...advice..." He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. "I can't think of any advice that she gave _me_." He leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him with a finger in his chest.

"Lee, come on!"

"No, really, the only advice she gave me was for you."

"For me?"

"Mm-hmm," he crooned as he leaned in to nuzzle her neck.

"Lee..."

"Hmm?" He pulled back to look at her questioningly, an impish grin on his face.

"Don't give me that look. Tell me what she said!"

"Oh, yeah, right." He shook his head. "It's funny, you know, because you've always told me that your mother's advice to you bordered on the insane, but it seemed like pretty sound advice to me."

"Lee," she scolded. "What was it?"

He laughed good-naturedly at the perturbed look on his fiancée's face. "Mm-mm. That's between her and me."

"That's what she said."

"Well, there you go." He grinned at her. "But here's the thing, Amanda, I already passed on her advice to you and you happily agreed."

"You did?" She blinked in confusion. "I did?"

"Mm-hmm," he murmured as he moved his lips back to the tender pulse point at her neck.

"She told you to marry me, didn't she?" Amanda blurted out and the couple shared a warm laugh.

"You didn't hear that from me."

"I didn't hear a word," Amanda confirmed as she tugged on the back of his neck to pull him to her for a long, lingering kiss.


	74. Cleaning Out the Closet

**Chapter 74-Cleaning Out the Closet**

"Need to Know"

AN: I decided to do something a bit different with this chapter, using a flashback to their Pine Top trip which will be as close as I ever get to writing a Pine Top story since there have been so many done already. Also, for creative reasons, I'm changing the order of the episodes slightly to put this one before "The Man Who Died Twice," since "Need to Know" fits better with where I left the prior chapter and with the ongoing story arc of Lee wanting to make space for Amanda at his place. On the Jim Saarinen bit, my supposition comes from a "missing" scene from the script in which Amanda said she wrote something about him for one of her class assignments.

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Upon returning from their trip to Pine Top early Sunday morning, Lee began unloading their bags from Amanda's car, and found her looking at him funny as he did so.

"What?" he questioned the dubious expression on her face as if her were doing something wrong.

"I...uh...I guess I don't understand why you're unloading my stuff too. I mean, it just seems pointless to haul them all the way upstairs, just to have to haul them all the way back down, since I have to go back to the house this evening to be there when Joe brings the boys home."

"Just trust me, would ya'?" He planted a quick kiss to her lips. "Besides that's hours and hours away."

"Okay-ay," she replied doubtfully as she closed the gate on the Wagoneer and followed him inside.

As she used her key to allow them entrance to the apartment since he had his hands full, Amanda's curiosity only increased when he walked straight to the bedroom. She'd expected him to set her suitcases down near the entryway since they would eventually have to take them back downstairs. She closed the door and followed him, entering the room just as he dropped the luggage on the bed.

As he began unpacking hers and not his, she stepped up to him and questioned, "Okay, I have to know, Just what are you up to?"

He plucked the clean garments she hadn't worn during their trip, smiled at her and walked to his dresser with the pile of her clothes in one hand while he opened the top drawer with the other. "Observe," he told her as he deposited her things inside the open drawer.

Her eyes lit up once she caught on to what he was doing. "You know, that's really very sweet, but if I don't take my luggage home with me, my mother is going to have some serious questions since she knows that I was out of town."

"I thought of that," he explained. "You may be very different from any other woman I have ever been involved with and in many, many ways, but one thing that is not different is that you packed way more than you needed for just a weekend trip. I figured you could take home the stuff you need washed so that your mother doesn't question you too much about the trip and leave the rest of it here." He turned to face her with a bit of a nervous expression on his face. He was now wondering if this had been a bad idea. He had wanted to surprise her, thinking that sharing his space with her would be a romantic gesture, but with the way she was looking at him dubiously, he wasn't so sure anymore. "I...Um...I just thought since you spend so much time here now, you should have your own space."

She smiled warmly at him. "That's a lovely gesture."

Sensing the hesitance in her tone, he probed, "But?"

"No, no, no. No but. I was just thinking..."

"Well, another plus is that it would keep you from having to haul that overnight bag around every time we wanna spend some time together," he reasoned. At seeing her still-wary look, his face fell and in a deflated voice, he injected, "You hate the idea, don't you? I...Uh...I thought when you agreed to marry me that you-"

"No, I don't hate the idea," she interrupted before he could get too bogged down in hurt feelings the way he had a tendency to do. She let out a bit of a sigh. She'd hoped that with time, there'd be fewer misunderstandings between them over little things like this. "I think it's wonderful that you cleared out a drawer in your dresser for me. I already said that it was sweet and thoughtful." She nodded to the garment bag lying on the bed beside her suitcase. "It's just that there are some things that aren't appropriate to put in a drawer...things that need hung up. You...Uh...You..." She didn't want to be to presumptuous since she knew that this was a big step for him. She took a deep breath and plunged on. What was the worst that could happen? "I...Uh...I don't suppose you cleaned out any closet space for me...did you?"

"Oh," he let out a bit of a laugh along with a sigh of relief. "No."

"Oh," she nodded with a bit of a downcast look on her face.

"But I can," he added. "I just wasn't thinking."

"No, no you don't have to. I mean, your space is _your _space," she protested, not wanting him to feel as if she were forcing him into it.

Lee sat on the edge of the bed and looked up at her in bewilderment. "Amanda, don't you get it?"

"Get what?"

"This place...the moving...apartment-hunting with you by my side...me asking you to help me move...having you shop for furniture with me... I did all that because I wanted your opinion. I wanted to start fresh in a place that you'd feel comfortable in...when you're here, I don't want you to feel like it's just my space, but _our_ space. I know this is all new and we're not married yet, but we will be and I-"

Amanda stifled his words with a tender kiss. "I love the idea..." She brushed her lips against his again, "...And I love you."

He took her hands in his and replied affectionately, "I love you too." He gave her a quick kiss and rose from the bed. "So, if we're going to make room for you in the closet before you have to go home, we'd better get to work." He released her hands and went back to her suitcase. He let out a slight grin as he picked up an item that had been concealed by the ones he'd just removed. "Amanda, what's this?" he questioned as he held up the lacy black negligee.

"What? This old thing," she teased with a smirk as she took it from him and held it up to herself.

"Amanda," he replied in a warning tone, not amused by her joking.

"Okay, okay," she conceded. "I bought it for this weekend, but I never did get a chance to wear it for you."

He thought back to their trip away and argued, "Hmm...I seem to recall a couple of times that you could have worn it."

"Oh no," she countered. "If you recall, the first night we were so tired from the drive and unpacking and all that we went straight to bed, not having the strength for anything else."

He took the nightie back from her and challenged, "If you'd worn something like this the first night, trust me, I'd have found the strength."

"Oh yeah?"

"Oh yeah," he confirmed as he moved closer to her.

She held her hands against his chest to keep him at a distance, the look in his eyes telling her that if she gave in, they'd never get the task at hand completed. She continued, "Well, then there was the second night we were there after we'd been out on the slopes all day..."

"I remember..." Lee mused as the memories washed over him.

_They entered their cabin laughing and holding onto one another. "Wow, was that fun, but I think I'm going to really be feeling it tomorrow," Amanda joked lightly as they closed the door behind them. _

_"Well, I know just the thing that'll help," Lee teased with a playful look in his eyes. _

_"Oh?" She linked her arms behind his neck._

_"Yeah. I have what have been called magic fingers..."_

_"Well, I KNOW that," she interrupted him with a laugh. _

_"Don't mock. That's not what I'm talking about," he explained as he began walking backward toward the bedroom with her in the circle of his arms. When they reached their destination, he suggested, "Why don't we go take a long, hot shower and then I'll work on those sore muscles of yours?"_

_"A massage? Really?"_

_"Really," he replied sincerely._

_"That would be wonderful," she gushed. "You're on." _

_They returned from their shower clad only in their robes. "Here, let's get this off you to make it easier first," he told her as he tugged at the belt holding her robe closed. _

_"Of course..." she replied eagerly in anticipation as she allowed him to peel the robe from her body, reveling in his appreciative gaze. "Just to make it easier." There had been a time earlier in their relationship when such a lingering stare from him would have made her flush with embarrassment, but now she enjoyed it. She loved that fact that he couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. _

_Lee cleared his throat loudly and forced his gaze from her trim body, took her hand in his and led her to the bed. "Lie down," he croaked hoarsely trying to maintain enough resolve to keep his promise to her. _

_Amanda complied and lay face-down on the bed while Lee moved to hover over her. Once he was sure she was comfortable, he began with her feet and slowly worked his way up, gently kneading the tight muscles in her calves, then her thighs eliciting low moans of pleasure from her. _

_"Magic fingers," she murmured as she sighed in contentment. _

_"You like that?" He moved his hands upward to her taut bottom and then to her lower back. _

_"Mm-mm," she answered as her body relaxed into in touch. "Feels good."_

_Lee scooted up on the bed, moving to straddle her as he trailed his hands further up her back, caressing and massaging as he went, working the knots out of her muscles. He couldn't help marveling at the smoothness of her skin as he manipulated the muscles with his hands. "Good, huh?"_

_"So good," she whispered in a raspy voice. _

_He leaned over her as he worked his hands up to her shoulders and brushed a tender kiss to her lips, and then to the tender pulse point at her neck. _

_"Mmm..." she sighed in response, his touch having set her alight. While the massage was just as wonderful as she had imagined it would be, now she wanted more. "Don't stop," she pleaded. _

_"No?" _

_"No." _

_Lee obliged her as he began to trails kisses down that path his hands had followed up her body, Amanda's vocal responses guiding him. He sucked the water droplets from her skin that were left by her still-damp hair and breathed in the scent of her, his desire for her escalating, but he was in no hurry. This weekend was just about taking the time to be together, about celebrating their engagement and her recovery from the torture she'd suffered. In his mind, this weekend was all about making her happy and giving her what she needed. _

_"Lee.." she moaned softly as his hands and mouth moved further down her body. His skilled hands parted her thighs and slipped beneath her, lifting her hips up just enough for his mouth to reach her most intimate region. "Lee!" she cried out louder than before as he began to stroke her with his tongue, working it in slow circles as he had her sore muscles with his hands. She gripped the pillow tightly with both hands as the pleasure began to overtake her. She soon found that she was not alone because his hands had moved from under her to clutch her own as he entered her from behind. _

_"OHHH, Amanda," he gasped as she closed around him, welcoming him as she always did. He clasped her hands with his, linking their fingers together, smiling at the sight of the diamond she wore wedged between them as he moved slowly within her. _

_"Lee," she gasped as she tried to push against him to urge him on, but found her mobility limited by his weight on top of her. "Lee, please," she begged at the maddening slowness with which he was moving. _

_"Shh..." he crooned into her hair and pressed a light kiss to her lips. "Patience, My Love." After their frenzied encounter in the shower a few days ago, he wanted to prolong her pleasure for as long as possible. He'd given into her demands then. This time, he wasn't. He circled his hips, mimicking the earlier motions he'd made with his hands during her massage and eased all the way into her again, delighting in her cries of elation. "Yes," he cheered. _

_"Oh," she cried as she felt the full length of her fiance' inside her, only to have him pull almost all the way out and push back in again. _

_"I love you," he murmured against her back as he pulled back again, his own pleasure intensifying as hers did until he could hold back no longer and he finally picked up the pace, driving into her until he felt her spasms around him that catapulted him over the edge with her. He gripped her hands tighter, raining kisses on her neck and shoulders as he spilled into her until he had nothing left to give her and collapsed atop her completely spent. _

_"I...love...you," she rasped as she tried to catch her breath and met his lips in a long, lingering kiss. _

"That was quite a night," Amanda commented as they unpacked and began to sort through his closet. "But we should get finished."

An hour later, the project had turned into a much bigger one. While they'd pulled things from the bedroom closet to make room for her, they hadn't figured out what to do with the stuff they'd taken from it. Amanda had discovered that the hall closet was just as packed so some stuff had been moved to the living room just for a place to put it in the moment. Much to her chagrin, she'd found the front closet just as full. _I'm marrying a pack rat from hell, _she thought.

"You know we should probably clean out these other two closets too." She gave him a curious look. "When we moved you in here, I thought you said you were gonna' get rid of some of this junk."

"And I will," he confirmed with an awkward chuckle.

"Well, why not just do it now while we're at it? I mean, if we're going to get married, you'll have to do it anyway for the day we move in together. It's for sure, I don't want some of this stuff at my house." As evidence to prove her point, she held up a lacy black bra she'd found in one of the boxes. She held it up to herself and looked down at her bosom. "I know for sure that I don't have any way to fill this out," she jested.

Lee snatched the item from her and tossed it into the bedroom trashcan while she began rooting through another box. He wasn't at all sure how he felt about moving into her house with her since she'd shared it with her ex. He wasn't sure just how to broach the subject with her, so instead, he shrugged and replied, "I just...I don't know. It's hard for me to part with some of this stuff."

She raised her eyebrows as she glanced at the scrap of lace he'd just tossed where it sat on the top of the trashcan. "Okay, not stuff like that." He shifted nervously. "What time do you have to be home again?"

"Oh, that's hours and hours away," she repeated his earlier words as she made her way into the living room arms laden with more stuff and him hot on her heels. "You're never gonna' clean out your closets if you won't throw anything away."

He knew she was right, but he was still thinking about her comment about her house. What if...? He shook his head. They had time to figure it out. After all, they hadn't even set a wedding date yet.

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Lee and Amanda looked up as Francine entered the room, but for once, didn't change their position for her benefit.

"Don't even bother to explain. It'll only make it worse," the blonde chirped cattily as she dropped the file on Amanda's desk and exited as quickly as she'd entered. She wondered how much longer they thought they could keep pretending there was nothing between them, especially since she'd seen first-hand how devastated Lee had been over Amanda's abduction at the hands of Addi Birol. She knew she needed to attempt to have another conversation with one or both of them, but now wasn't the time.

Finishing their tussle with the coin, Amanda crowed triumphantly, "Start talking."

Lee groaned in protest as he sank back down at his desk. "Don't think I don't know that you cheated," he countered.

"What? Me? Cheat? I have never cheated on anything in my life!"

"No?"

"Mm-mm," she shook her head adamantly.

"Then explain Jim Saarinen. You were married to Joe then."

"I was not!" She looked affronted that he'd even think that of her.

He tapped the file. "I beg to differ. That was 1976. You married Joe in '72 and divorced him in '82."

"Mm-mm. It was 1971 before I even met Joe." _Okay, not much before, but still..._she mused.

He looked at this file. "No, it's right here in your own words that you wrote for your class. 1976."

"I know what it says, but it's wrong. I wrote that story up for a class assignment as you well know, but I hand-wrote it. The girl in steno goofed when she typed it. She mistook a stray ink smudge for being the rounded part of a six next to the one in 1971. I've been trying to get the official copy corrected ever since."

"Even so, who is he and what were you doing in Hilton Head with him in whatever year you were with him?"

"Mm-mm. You lost the coin toss, so not until you start spilling your guts first."

"I did _not_ lose the coin toss; you cheated on the coin toss," he goaded her with a grin as he rose from his seat and approached her.

She too rose and glared at him challengingly. "Are we going to do this again?"

"Maybe..." He smirked at her. "I kind of liked being on top of you that way. Reminded me of our weekend at Pine Top."

"That is so not fair," she pouted as she flushed at the memories.

"You know what they say...All's fair in love and war," he reminded her.

"If that's true, why do we need to share secrets at all?" she reasoned. "We are both adults and we should just acknowledge that we both have a past and move on with our future."

"You're right. Why dredge up the past when we've got such a great future?"

"Good. Then, we're agreed." She nodded in acknowledgement.

"Absolutely."

"Besides," he shrugged as he wandered back over to his desk. "I'd be perfectly happy to imagine you only having had sex twice before me."

Amanda laughed as she sat back down in her own seat and began to peruse the file that Francine had left, muttering under her breath, "You wish."


	75. Making the Best of It

**Chapter 75-Making the Best of It**

"The Man Who Died Twice"

AN: For this chapter, I have to admit that I never liked Amanda's negativity in shooting down all of Lee's plans and dreams for their future, so I wanted to explore a bit of her internal thoughts here to explain the reasoning behind it. As mentioned in the prior chapter, I'm still re-ordering episodes, doing "The Man Who Died Twice" before "Photo Finish." Given the content of this episode, it's a bit grimmer than the prior one.

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As Amanda sat in the passenger seat of the 'vette and listened to Lee gush about plans for their future, she couldn't help shaking her head. While it was a very nice idea, she felt that he wasn't looking at the bigger picture. For one thing, he hadn't even met the boys yet and here he was making plans for them...unless... She thought of his dream that one day, his kids would have horses. She looked at him sideways as she contemplated that thought. He'd mentioned the boys, but was he only talking about the boys and already considering them his or was he thinking long-term and making plans for them to have more kids together? She frowned slightly. She wasn't sure how she felt about that now that her career was finally moving forward and she was making a real name for herself at The Agency. While the fantasy of having a baby with the man she loved was nice, a new baby would bring all that to a screeching halt, aside from the fact that their child would be in danger from infancy. Didn't he realize that?

Then there was the fact that he seemed to have forgotten that she was allergic to horses and that annoyed her, so the first thing that flew out of her mouth had been, "Do you have any idea how much it costs to keep horses?" She had been hoping that would spark some memory in him of the last time she'd encountered a horse, but it hadn't, he'd just continued on with talk of the horse he'd had when he was a kid, blathering about horses, kids and responsibility.

Lee looked at her worriedly, unnerved by the negative tone in her voice and abruptly shifted gears in his ramble. "What? You don't like the idea?" He couldn't help feeling that she wasn't as serious about moving forward with their future as he was. She kept talking about the expense, how expensive it was to live in Rockville, how much it cost to keep horses... Didn't she understand that he wasn't willing to put a price limit on their future?

"Oh, no. I like the idea." She attempted to soothe his bruised feelings with a light hand on his shoulder. "I like all your ideas. I just think we have an awful lot to talk about before we start thinking about things like this, that's all." For one thing, she thought she'd made some good points about the cost of things. She shook her head as she thought of the vast differences between them. He'd never had to live on a budget because he'd always been single and had spent his money on whatever he wanted. She, however, had and he seemed to have forgotten that too, that she'd been a struggling single mother for years and many times when still working part-time, had fought just to keep food on the table for her children in between child support checks. How could he not remember that, especially when he'd had to co-sign a loan for her just to help her pay her property taxes?

"Okay," he acknowledged. "Keep my feet on the ground, but for now watch my rear."

"Pleasure," she retorted with a cheeky grin in the hopes that that would lighten the mood.

"Very funny," he responded in annoyance. What the hell was wrong with her? He'd thought after all the time they'd spent cleaning out his place, she was just as ready to move forward as he was. She'd even brought up the idea of him someday moving in with her. He knew for sure that he didn't want that, not in that house, but he had no problem at all with the idea of them moving in together, but he wanted it to be a place of their own and it was for sure that he couldn't ask her to move in with him, not with the boys and her mother. He'd thought the idea of them buying a new house together was the perfect compromise, so why was she being so stubborn about it? He didn't have any further time to contemplate it because before he knew it, they were being shot at.

The situation had only escalated after that incident. As they walked through the streets of Chinatown together, Lee had become more determined than ever. "If we're gonna' take all the risks, we should get everything life has to offer in return, right?"

"Right," she nodded in acknowledgement.

"So, what are we waiting for?" he questioned. She turned her gaze to him, a bit startled. "When this thing is over, I'm gonna' hock everything I own for that Rockville house. Amanda, what do you think about another big wedding, huh? I never had one."

"Wait a minute," she attempted to stop that train of thought before it could go any further. Didn't he understand that it was more complicated than that? While he only had his uncle to consider, she had children who'd never met him and a mother who'd only met him once. It wasn't as simple as just making plans. They had to figure out how to blend their two very different lives. She couldn't just thrust a new stepfather on Phillip and Jamie without giving them the benefit of getting to know him first. Not to mention, moving to Rockville would uproot them, they'd have to change schools, move away from their friends. That was aside from considering their father. While Joe had missed a good chunk of their lives growing up, he was around now and he should at least be informed that major changes were coming in their lives.

"You're right," Lee nodded, but couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed by her reaction, but he wanted to prove to her that he was willing to compromise. Now that they'd found each other and had grown so close, he didn't want to do what he'd done in the past and screw it up with his own selfishness. "We'll have a backyard ceremony..."

Amanda rolled her eyes as he babbled on about the wedding ceremony. Why didn't he get that that wasn't what her hesitation was about? "Now, hold on a second," she snapped to get his head out of the clouds. "You've got us all moved in with two cats and a front-porch swing." When he interrupted her again with the idea of softball games and weeding the garden, her tone became more insistent. "Now, wait a minute. Don't you think we oughtta' talk to the boys about this first?" She hoped that would drive the point home to him.

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Yeah," she confirmed, glad that it finally seemed to have sunk in. "And you know what? Family life and The Agency don't seem to go together all that well either when you come to think about it." They would have to have some serious discussions about how to protect the boys once they were married. They lived in a dangerous world and worked in a dangerous profession. That had to be addressed before they could move forward with any concrete wedding plans, but now was not the time as T.P.'s greeting had halted their conversation and it was back to business.

Later that day as they rode in the 'vette, Amanda once again gripped Lee's shoulder, but this time for her comfort, not his. "That could be you one day," Lee stated grimly. "Talking to strangers about your dead husband, trying to unravel the truth about his death, knowing you'll never find it." He recalled all too well what that felt like in having never known the full truth about his parents' deaths.

"I know," she replied softly as she stared absently out the window. She'd wanted to bring Lee down to earth a bit, but the cold, hard reality had gotten her thinking more too; her earlier comments about blending family life with Agency life now haunted her. She let out a sigh.

"Not your typical two-career family, huh?" Lee tried to make a joke of it, but his voice just sounded flat. Amanda let out a sardonic snort, but couldn't find much humor in the situation. "One of us might not come home for dinner...ever."

Amanda blinked back the tears that had started to form in her eyes as she really thought about everything that could possibly happen and clutched Lee's shoulder tighter while he continued, "They've got Khai's little boy, Amanda. That could be Phillip or Jamie."

"I know," she sniped in annoyance. She felt as if he were still treating her like a rookie. This was the kind of thing she'd been trying to make him see. Realizing how harsh she sounded, she finally looked at him and in a hoarse, choked whisper, repeated, "I know." She quickly averted her eyes from his, unable to bear the pain and fear she saw on his face. She stared blankly out the window again, lost in her own thoughts.

Upon seeing the unshed tears in her eyes, it finally hit home to him what she'd been trying to tell him in Chinatown. They had a lot to figure out before they could move forward with any future plans. They rode in silence for a few more minutes until Lee veered off-course in their ride back to the office, instead pulling up to the curb in front of his apartment.

When the car stopped, Amanda snapped out of her reverie and was startled to see where they were. While she'd been gazing absently out the window, she'd been so lost in her worries that she hadn't really taken in any of their surroundings. She looked in his direction questioningly, but found that he'd already exited the vehicle and was approaching her side. He opened the door and reached for her hand to help her out.

Wordlessly, they made their way into the closest thing they had to a shared home...the closest thing they may ever have. They both knew it, but were too afraid to talk about it. For the first time since this assignment had begun, they were on the same page. Lee closed the door behind them and immediately they flew into one another's arms, both feeling a desperate need to cling to each other while they still had each other to cling to. Lee's words in the car about not coming home for dinner had affected them both deeply. Amanda clutched both of his shoulders now just as fiercely as she had in the car as his mouth descended on hers in a frantic attempt to feel something other than abject fear.

She stifled a sob as his kisses began to work their magic on her while his hands slid first to her waist, and then under her skirt, yanking hard on her panties. She let out a low groan of distress, her emotions in a whirl, part fear, part disdain that another pair of underwear had just been ruined and of course, part desire as he stroked her with his thumb and dipped one finger inside her. "Lee," she gasped as she tore her mouth from his and lowered her hands to loosen his belt. "Need...you."

He backed her up against the entry table just as she had finished her task of freeing him from his pants and plunged into her hard. He paused for a moment to look deeply into her eyes and used his free hand to brush away her tears, blinking back those that had formed in his own eyes at the realization that the life he truly wanted with her, he could never have. When she pushed back against the table to urge him to continue, he obliged her by locking his hands at her hips and driving up into her hard. His fierce need to possess her overwhelmed him as he reflected back on his earlier words to her to take everything life had to offer, knowing now that this was the best it was going to get as long as they did what they did for a living. "Love you," he croaked as they moved together, both holding on for dear life, neither knowing if each time they saw each other might be their last.

"I love you," she echoed while she moved both hands back up to his shoulders, gripping them fiercely and then let out a gasp as he began to caress her swollen nub again while he pushed into her. Whatever the future held for them didn't matter for the moment. She just needed this with him here and now. He'd known it too. That was why she hadn't even said a word about him stopping here. It felt good that they were finally seeing things the same way again, but still it saddened her that it was such a bleak view they shared. She let out a strangled cry as her body shuddered against his and heard his echoing cry of release and felt him erupting inside her. She clamped her lips down onto his neck as they rode out the wave together, their hearts pounding as one.

They held tightly to one another long after it was over and their breathing had slowed, sharing soft, tender kisses of comfort, neither wanting to be the first to let go. "Amanda...I...I'm sorry."

She lightly caressed his face. "What do you have to be sorry for?"

"You were trying to tell me and I wasn't listening. I just want so badly to-"

"I know," she repeated her words from the car. "I do too, but how? We both saw what happened to Khai and his family. What if...?"

He silenced her with another soft kiss and pulled out of her and away from her, the mention of Khai reminding them that they still had a job to do. He quickly straightened his clothing as she bent to pick up her tattered underwear.

Attempting to lighten the somber mood, she shook them at him and teased, "Well, there's one thing that never changes. It's just a good thing you insisted on me having space here." She quickly took off toward the bedroom, so that he couldn't see the fear that still showed on her face behind her jesting tone.

"Yeah," he replied softly to the empty foyer as it really hit him that this shared space might be all they ever had together. No house, no horses, no kids of his own, just him and Amanda and their secrets.

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As Amanda sat by Lee's bedside holding his hand and silently praying for him to wake up, her thoughts were in turmoil. She couldn't help replaying their conversation in the car and his chilling words to her. _"One of us might not come home for dinner...ever," _followed by her mother's question to her on the phone, _"What do you do when the man you like wants to live dangerously?" _She'd been talking about Captain Curt's new plane, but might as well have been asking Amanda about her relationship with Lee...again. How were they ever going to reconcile their two lives?

After he'd awoken and learned of Khai's death and begun to explain to her the term, "Saigon boxcar," her agitation only rose as she thought of how easily they could both have been killed. Those thoughts continued to plague her through the remainder of the night and all during the next day when working with Francine, even after learning that Khai hadn't been killed after all. She knew how easily he could have been; how all three of them could have been blown to bits and her children would never have known what happened to her or why.

As she stood at her kitchen sink, she was comforted by hearing the familiar sounds of her boys squabbling over who was going to do the dishes. She was amazed by how something that could be such an annoyance, could also feel like such a remedy for her wounded heart. It was so...normal. Her thoughts were interrupted by Lee poking his head in the back door and gesturing to the back yard. She eagerly followed. The trauma of the past few days didn't stop the elation she felt at seeing him. As much as she'd been pooh-poohing his dreamy plans for their future, she still longed for a life with him and she was willing to take it in any form she could get.

As they walked out to the gazebo and he was filling her in on what was happening with Khai and his family, she couldn't help asking, "Will they be safe?"

"Well, no one's ever completely safe in this business," he reluctantly admitted. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about." He looked down at his hands, finding it much harder to voice his thoughts out loud than he'd imagined it would be. "Amanda...Uh...the horses and the softball games in the backyard are gonna' have to wait." He looked up at her, looking utterly defeated.

"I know that," she replied with a smile to ease his discomfort.

"But I _am_ gonna' marry you, Amanda King," he assured her with certainty. "Except that it's gonna' have to be a mystery marriage...because if it isn't, one day our family might get in trouble just like Khai's."

"We'll make the best of it," she added hopefully.

He looked down again, still feeling dejected. "I've got you," he added as he tried to share her optimism.

She hooked a finger under his chin to get him to meet her eyes again, "And I got you." She smiled warmly at him to reassure him that that was all she needed; for them to be together.

"Then we've got everything," he responded as he brushed a soft kiss to her lips. Who needed a big fancy house or a splashy wedding as long as they had each other?


	76. An Indelicate Offer

**Chapter 76-An Indelicate Offer**

"Photo Finish"

"What are you doing?" Lee questioned his fiancée' with a stupefied look on his face. "Are you gonna' just sit there?"

"Yes, I'm gonna' just sit here," she snapped angrily as she yanked the pass from her lapel and waved it at him. "I've got a visitor's pass and that's all I can do is just sit here!"

As they argued a few minutes more on the merits of taking their own action versus allowing Mrs. Frampton and her security review board handle things, Lee realized that he wasn't getting anywhere with her. He finally took a deep breath to calm himself. He had to make her see how serious this was. It was bad enough that due to the danger of their work, they'd agreed that they couldn't let anyone in on their engagement, couldn't properly celebrate it like a normal couple should; now, with this hanging over their head, the board could permanently strip Amanda of her security clearance preventing them from ever seeing each other again.

He knelt before her and looked her in the eyes and in a gentler tone, explained, "I told you before, didn't I? We might not be able to work with each other anymore." He swallowed hard and in a choked voice added, "_See_ each other..." He found he couldn't finish the thought. The idea of never seeing her again was just too painful.

Upon seeing the anguished look on his face, his words hit home. "Are you sure?"

When he just nodded, with a quiet, "Yeah," she asked, "Okay, what do we have to do?"

He shook his head. "I don't know, but dammit, let's make a start!"

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Amanda smiled as Lee began talking about his "magic fingers" again as those very magic fingers began working loose the tight muscles of her neck. A shiver crept up her spine as his lips grazed her neck, but then she found herself distracted by what she'd just found in the Statik Aerospace computer files.

Lee let out a groan as she explained it to him. "We're back to the floor wax," he commented, realizing that she had been onto something the whole time.

She went on to show him the discrepancy between Statik's personnel roster and what their contractor was billing them for. "Amanda, you're brilliant! We may just be close to cracking this thing. I should call Billy back and let him know."

"Or..." she stopped him with a hand on his knee and turned toward him. "We can wait 'til morning. I mean, you did just talk to him and Tanner said everything's fine there, right?"

"Right," he felt a shudder of anticipation creep up his spine at the way she was sliding her hands up his legs.

"I believe you said something about an indelicate offer." She reached to undo his pants.

"I...uh...I didn't think you were listening."

"Oh, I was listening. Now, I know I'm not a member of any royal family..." She slowly inched his zipper down. "But my name _is_ King, so that should count for something." She reached inside his boxers to grasp him firmly and then looked up at him. "Shouldn't it?" She lowered her head to take him in her mouth

"Oh, it counts," he groaned as he threw his head back against the couch while she stroked him with her lips and tongue. "It definitely counts."

She released him and looked up at him again. "Are you sure now?"

'A-man-da," he growled. Was she trying to kill him? He yanked firmly on her hands to pull her up to a standing position, yanked the tails of her shirt from her jeans and unfastened the button at her waist. He moved his hands upward to undo the buttons on her blouse one by one until he was able to push it from her shoulders, revealing her lacy white bra. Even in the dim light, he could see her skin was already tinged with the flush of desire. "Let's go to bed," he croaked.

She shook her head. "No."

"No?" he questioned.

"Mm-mm. Right here. We haven't properly christened your new couch, after all."

He let out a laugh. Would she never cease to surprise him? He kicked off his shoes under the coffee table while she toed off her own and they resumed their position. He planted a warm kiss to her stomach, his tongue dipping into her navel emitting a squeal from his fiancée. "Lee," she pleaded.

He looked up at her. "Now, you know how it feels," he teased.

She leaned forward and began working on the buttons of his shirt. Once completed, she ran her hands up and down his bare chest, raking her nails against his hard nipples.

He let out a hiss at her touch, his desire for her mounting. He'd been really worried that if they couldn't solve this thing, they'd never have this again. Now that they were closer to an answer, he found that he could relax a bit and just enjoy being with her again.

Lee unzipped her jeans and peeled them down her long legs. She stepped out of them, but then when he reached for her panties, she stepped back as far as the coffee table would allow and wagged a scolding finger at him.

"Uh-uh," she admonished. "Not this time, Buster. Lingerie's too expensive to keep having to replace it." She unhooked her bra, dropped it to the floor, and then shimmied out of her panties.

Lee let out an involuntary gasp at her standing so boldly in front of him, stark naked. Still he couldn't resist responding to the challenge he saw in her eyes. "Oh, well, if you'd ever wear sexy nightgowns for me, it's be a lot easier to undress you, wouldn't it?"

"Hmmm...That's the pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?" She knelt again and tugged on his pants. He shifted slightly to accommodate her and exposed his boxers fully. She nodded to his underwear. "I don't see you wearing anything particularly sexy for me. They do make stuff for men too, you know." She yanked his underwear down his legs and once he was just as naked as she was, he pulled her into his lap where they shared heated kisses as they touched and teased each other.

Lee lowered his mouth to her breast as she took hold of his shaft firmly and guided him into her, both of them crying out at the renewed union. "Amanda," he groaned against her skin as she began to rock body toward his, pushing him deeper within her. How could he ever have been so stupid as to have even thought of denying himself this in the past? He'd tried over and over again to tell himself that she was nothing more than just one more fling to him until he'd found that he couldn't be with anyone except her. He couldn't recall just when that realization had hit him, but he knew it now without a doubt. He had to be with her forever.

"Lee," she sighed as he grasped her hips to increase the pace of her movements. They locked eyes as they moved together, sharing whispered words of love and desire until they were both well beyond the point of whispering and were harshly crying out one another's names as they tumbled over the edge together.

"I love you," he croaked hoarsely through his ragged breathing.

"I love you," she responded and planted a soft kiss to his lips as she lovingly caressed his face.

Once his breathing slowed, he couldn't resist teasing her. "It was the magic fingers that did it, wasn't it?"

Amanda laughed and he couldn't help smiling. They'd had so little to laugh about over the past week. "No," she answered. "It's just because you're such a sexpert."

"Oh, is that right? Is that all you want me for?" he pouted.

She shook her head. "No, I want you because you're a good man and I'm completely in love with you, but the other stuff doesn't hurt."

"So, the stuff about not wanting to go to the cabin with me..."

She placed her hands on his chest. "Wasn't anything to do with you. It was all about work. I wanted to go, I really did, but I also wanted to do a good job. I needed to prove that I could do stuff on my own without you looking over my shoulder or being there to guide me."

He nodded. "I understand." He let out a sigh because he knew there was still so much that he needed her guidance on, a committed relationship was still new to him and even though they'd decided to keep their marriage a secret, the thought of taking on her two boys when he knew nothing about how to take care of kids, terrified him. He wondered if there was anything she didn't excel at and worried that as time went on, she'd see that he just didn't measure up.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

He shook his head. "Nothing," he lied. "I was just thinking. You know, you really did do a great job." He pointed to the computer. "That was really good work."

"Yeah?" she questioned hesitantly. She was still so unsure of herself in his world. She thought back to his words of the other day about having nothing to prove, but still, she felt she had to try to be more than just the famed Scarecrow's protégé. "On that note, we're going to have a lot of work to do tomorrow, so we should get to bed."

"Yeah," he agreed. "Long day."

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"You gave up too easily," Amanda teased with her hand wrapped still wrapped around his tie.

"Oh, yeah?" He smiled warmly at her, happy that they were back to being themselves again without the shadow of her suspension hanging over their heads. They still had a lot to work out, but they had time.

"Mm-hmm." She edged closer to him.

"What about all that work you said you had to do on the Statik review?"

"Oh, I was just teasing you. When I presented all that stuff to Beaman, he gave me a bit of a reprieve because I went way above and beyond anything a trainee is required to do and since Joe has the boys this weekend, what do you say we take off a little early and get out of this town for a couple of days before Billy finds us something else to do?"

"You know, I think you're right. I don't think you need me guiding you anymore. You come up with good plans all on your own now."


End file.
